THE LAST JEDI is often reviled as far as recent blockbusters go, but at least the editing was competent and the story, while problematic and too eager to shock at the expense of logic or characterization, was coherent. THE CRIMES OF GRINDELWALD cannot claim any of these modest skills. The opening escape scene is a masterpiece of horrible editing, camerawork, and lighting. And it all goes downhill from there.
This movie basically exists to set up later movies. The story just spins and spins, and when it finally goes somewhere, you've not only been bored out of your mind for two and a half hours, but annoyed by the preposterous decisions the characters make-- Queenie joining the wizard equivalent of Nazis so she can marry a Muggle is the most nonsensical thing, and the flashback on the Titanic would have made me laugh had it not been so infuriatingly stupid.
The creatures are cute and the world design is nice, but that's all that saves GRINDELWALD from being 100% unwatchable. As it is, it's pretty close to that mark!
This movie basically exists to set up later movies. The story just spins and spins, and when it finally goes somewhere, you've not only been bored out of your mind for two and a half hours, but annoyed by the preposterous decisions the characters make-- Queenie joining the wizard equivalent of Nazis so she can marry a Muggle is the most nonsensical thing, and the flashback on the Titanic would have made me laugh had it not been so infuriatingly stupid.
The creatures are cute and the world design is nice, but that's all that saves GRINDELWALD from being 100% unwatchable. As it is, it's pretty close to that mark!