I decided to revisit this film after a couple years. Let me say that the first time I watched it, I didn't like it. Upon the rewatch, I appreciate it more but still wouldn't consider it incredible.

The Good:

-Jacob Kowalski, Tina, and Percival Graves are standout characters that are compelling and enjoyable.

-The "beasts" are amazingly creative and imaginative in the best way.

-Set and costume design are really good. It was refreshing to see wizarding world characters in a different time period.

The Okay:

-The CGI is fine but with a franchise like this it could have been utilized better; a few times it feels overused...something that I can't say I ever felt while watching Harry Potter.

-The plot is pretty straight forward, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but none of the desired twists land the way I think J.K. Rowling would have hoped considering she produces some really flooring plot twist moments in the original series.

-The musical score is fine but not memorable.

The Bad:

-The pacing is rough in the film. There are some truly great moments but none of them seem to follow one another in succession. The first half of the film feels draggy.

-It takes awhile to warm up to Newt as a character which isn't fantastic given that he is the lead. I understand he is supposed to be socially awkward but for the first two thirds of the film he mostly feels bland and you don't really care about him all that much.

I think a key question when judging prequels is, although the story is linked to a successful property does it do enough to merit its own existence; can it stand on its own two feet without pandering or fan service moments. I believe Fantastic Beasts is able to be its own thing without elbowing the audience in the ribs about how it is connected to Harry Potter. If this were the very first wizarding world film ever it wouldn't be a knock out of the park but it would be enough to spark questions and spawn a sequel, which I guess means it does its job as an intro film well, albeit imperfectly.