I generally hate writing a review about a movie/tv episode that I hate. It feels like a waste of energy, especially knowing that there are plenty of people out there who genuinely enjoy this film series, but I'm just not one of them. I LOVE the Harry Potter movies and grew up with those 8 films, but I've never felt the connection to the Fantastic Beasts series that I did to Potter. It's not necessarily fair to make that comparison but alas, there's virtually nothing good about the Crimes of Grindelwald. Confusing, convoluted, and at times way too convenient for its own good, the film has nothing to grapple onto emotionally. In fact, the one decent thing about the first film (Queenie and Jacob) is entirely ruined in this film's third act. Disappointingly, the film has almost pushed aside the beasts side of the series completely, in exchange for a cliched villain with Grindelwald, who severely lacks in originality. Admittedly, I found myself lost for most of the runtime. Until they inevitably put out "Cursed Child" in 15 years, this may be it for me with this universe.

2.3/10