Easily the worst film of a fantastic franchise. Like too many other sequels, it advances the story very little through a series of circumstances that don't add up and at the price of the best parts of its predecessor. The beasts are largely window dressing in another story about a wizard who wants to take over the world. In this case, the wizard seems to be manifesting a current and controversial world leader. That would be fine if there were any joy or hope to offset the fear and despair. There isn't. Every character is in pain from the start with little relief or hope. Sympathetic characters are introduced only to be mangled or forgotten. There aren't even the touching moments of connection or instances of comic relief to carry ine on. It's like a bad Tennesse Williams play with special effects.

If you haven't seen the film and have a sensitive stomach, be warned. The cinemetography in the first half of the film is torturous, relying almost exclusively on tracking shots that change plains. This film plays like an amusement park ride shot for a 3D version.

The actors did the best they could with a bad script and self-indulgent directing. Lets hope the next installment makes it worth it for them. If this were the first book or film in the series, nobody would have looked for the second.