As a Harry Potter fan, it is hard to judge "Fantastic Beasts" without comparison to the Potter films. Fantastic Beasts has its own magic and charm, but gone are the supporting characters--Dumbledore, Snape, the Dark Lord, etc, which made the Potter stories so good. I can't see any of the characters introduced in "Beasts" as stepping into those roles. Colin Farrell does well as the dark magic heavy; Eddie Redmayne is great as Newt, the Zookeeper. As usual these days in Hollywood the special effects carry the day and make what was an OK movie into a very watchable one. They say this story arc has five more movies and I would imagine they'll take the story right up to the birth of Mr Potter. Should be fun!