'The Crimes of Grindelwald' is the second movie in the Harry Potter franchise dedicated to the events that took place long before Harry was born - and portrays the rise of Gellert Grindelwald. After having been a long-time Harry Potter fan, growing up with the books and movies, I welcomed every extension of the Wizarding World I could get. I remember well how fascinated I was when I first read the very first book and how magical and special it all felt to me, all the while being able to completely relate with those characters, with them being kids themselves. It opened up a whole new world to me and it was (and is) only rivaled by my passion for Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. I have so many great memories and so many beautiful moments I associate with these books. Like, when I chose to read Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, while everyone else was celebrating New Year's Eve and I could dive into this other world that I had all to myself. Harry Potter is a large part of my childhood and very, very dear to me. It is also why I respected J. K. Rowling for her amazing work, for her gift to children and adults alike, to escape from the real world for a short while and join this other, magical piece of life.

I was hyped when 'The Cursed Child' was published. Although, not for long. I was shocked how little these characters had in common with who I thought they were, with those three teenagers fighting for justice and peace. I was disappointed by the highly hectic and jumpy plot that read like a badly written piece of fanfiction. And so, I held little hope for 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them'. But to my immense joy, I was positively surprised. They introduced a different kind of 'magic', a different way of this Wizarding World I grew up to love. A new setting, new characters, new events. It wasn't exactly Harry Potter, and yet it was, because you could still feel the magic in it. This special sprinkle of mystery and the characteristic odd sense of humor, that only J.K.R. can make work. So yes, when I went to the cinema to watch 'The Crimes of Grindelwald', I dared to hope once more. I was excited, I was curious.

I have to say, before I get to the actual movie, that I know almost everything there is to know about Harry Potter from reading the books. I truly loved piecing it all together, remembering details about the characters, making assumptions about their past and imagining what it might have looked like all those years ago at Hogwarts. I have always wished for a backstory. Be it of the rise of the Dark Lord or from the days when the Marauders were students at Hogwarts, or even before that, when Grindelwald was terrorizing Europe. So, this movie, finally shedding light on these aforementioned crimes of Grindelwald, was a huge fan service to me - and not in a negative way. I expected to see a dark, haunting, political thriller with Grindelwald in this magical world I had come to love so much. I expected it to strike a nerve, to make me feel the fear those Wizards and Muggles must have experienced. But, alas, it did not.

The movie was a huge let-down in many ways. But the one way I cannot forgive, the one aspect that still pains me the most, is that it has finally lost its magic. It did not feel like any of the books or movies before, magic wasn't special anymore, I didn't feel this tingle I associate with childhood memories and the wonders of the Wizarding World, no - it felt like a sci-fi movie entirely relying on special effects and ignoring character development and plot progress. Spells were mostly performed without wand or incantation, shiny and grand without real meaning, never before introduced but suddenly everyday knowledge. The movie was overdone and boring at the same time, both visually and plot wise. Newt Scamander was reduced to a loverboy and not given the chance to truly shine in his role as the endearing creature fanatic he is. Johnny Depp's performance was lacking everything Grindelwald was supposed to be: charismatic, convincing, witty, influential. Nagini's introduction was inexistent. She was just there... that's it. And Credence, well, without spoiling anything, let's just say they couldn't agree on what to make of him so they just threw in any idea they had. But there are also little things, things that annoy me as a Potter fanatic, things that are inconsistent, not congruent with what we know of the Potter universe. Like Dumbledore, being a DADA teacher instead of the Transfiguration teacher we know he was. Or Prof. McGonagall, teaching at Hogwarts before she was even supposed to have graduated....Especially, since it explicitly states in the books that she has been teaching since 1956, while 'The Crimes of Grindelwald' takes place in 1926/27. This is just a huge slap in the face for any Potter fact nerd (aside from other inconsistencies). But I could have forgiven that, I could have overlooked the small mistakes (even though they did feel huge), if not for the underwhelming portrayal of Hogwarts. Why did they have to drag Hogwarts back into it? Why did they have to ruin the magic it held, the mystery it bore, just for a few, unnecessary shots? It didn't feel the same, it didn't feel special anymore, it had gotten ordinary. It was, to put it simply, ruined.

I left the cinema with a feeling of dread, but not the one I had been hoping to get from the haunting performance or terrifyingly amazing plot. It was dread, because I knew, this was it. I did not care about the characters in the movie, I wasn't captured by any of the intended emotional moments. I don't think I could handle another punch in the stomach, not another let-down. I am entirely uncertain whether I'll even continue to watch the supposed next three movies, even though they are bound to cover (at least partially) my most favorite part: Lord Voldemort's rise to power. Maybe, just maybe, we ought to have let our imagination take the lead and speak for itself. Some things should remain in our heads and hearts without having to be plastered to a cinematic screen. I felt this way when watching 'The Hobbit' and I felt it today once more when watching 'The Crimes of Grindelwald'. This is not to say that the movie as a standalone film was awful - for it was not. But it doesn't deserve to be associated with anything that relates to Harry Potter. I truly hope that others may still find joy or discover part of their beloved magic in this movie, even when I could not. For me, this is the final nail in the coffin of the Fantastic Beasts franchise. May it rest in peace.