I went in with not much expectations. I'm not a die-hard harry potter fan but I like the atmosphere.

This movie's atmosphere, visuals, settings and creatures are stunning. The actors are great. But then it feels like this movie is stretched so long to just "hang out in the universe" and probably make 3 or 4 movies out of it instead.

While there are many different story lines that are thrown up in the air (love, act of love, betrayal, seeking purpose, loyalty, ...) it becomes segmented and is not further persisted. There is a scene where two lovers admit to their love, but the emotion isn't conveyed. The visual effect of their environment seems to overshadowed the deep passionate and conflicted emotion that could've been in this moment. The entire movie is filled with these moments that ultimately disengage you with the characters as everything is so sterile.

The buildup of the movie, then, becomes effectively a slideshow of beautiful scenes. Where all the attention goes to glitter and fire animation. Where the actors just float in between without integrated purpose. As if you're on a animatronic ride in Disney Land or a linear progression 3D game world towards a hook for the "next episode".

So see this movie if you have time to spare and like the universe. The visual galore you can only experience in a high tech cinematic screen. But it's nothing more as a visual ride. It creates so little pretext to the next movie, it probably can be skipped when the next movie comes out.