The Crimes of Grindelwald is a direct sequel to the Harry Potter spin-off Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and the 10th movie based in the Wizarding World. The story picks up right after the events of the first movie and takes place in Paris, where Gellert Grindelwald (Johnny Depp) escapes to and seeks to find his army of followers while Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) and Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law) attempt to take him down.

Despite resting in the adventure genre, the film shows good detective work with some unexpected twists. The movie by itself is a bold experiment, that follows several storylines with different storytelling paces, dynamics and humor, which come together by the end of it. It worked despite the fact that it was necessary for the plot to introduce new characters without throwing away the old beloved ones.

Overall, the movie only makes sense if you have been following the Wizarding world or at least have seen the previous iteration. While the first Fantastic Beasts movie was a perfect standalone introduction to the wizarding world outside Hogwarts with just a few references, the second one has a lot of information, making it hard for the new viewers to sort through. The film leaves us with an open ending, making it a preparation for what is ahead.