I apologize in advance, as I know my comment is gonna be long and won't help anyone decide whether or not they should watch this, but I just need to put this out.
I just finished watching this movie and I, in good honesty, don't know what to make of it...It made me cringe constantly, it almost made me cry, made me laugh, made me facepalm, made me feel anxious, made me feel claustrophobic, made me empathize with the main characters and their struggles, but it also made me wish some of them would die at some point. The pacing, the acting, the cinematography, it all fits the narrative of what I imagine would be to live in such a small Irish island back then. (except for the finger chopping part. Wasn't expecting all of that).
I'm still not sure if, to me, it makes sense all the high ratings and so many Golden Globes nominations but it's definitely one of those movies that get you thinking, specially, for me, that, no matter how frustrating Pádraic was (and damn he was! Dominic was much clever than him), Colm can't make him responsible for his own actions in that way.
I guess my rating would be: made me feel things and left me very confused.
Not exactly a Harry Potter fan so, to be quite honest, I've only decided to watch this one (having avoided the first two until just now) because of Mads Mikkelsen, as he is one of my favourite actors. He is great in this, as he is in every movie I've seen of his so far, though, to be frank, I saw a bit of Hannibal Lecter in there sometimes (in some expressions, but, especially, during their fight, the moment when he and Dumbledore touch each other's chest, which gave me so much Hannibal/Will vibes, particularly from the last episode of the show! But I digress...).
Having watched the first two, whether you like Johnny Depp's portrayal of Grindelwald or not (and I, for one, disagree that it was too cartoonish, as I've read somewhere. I think it fitted very well with the HP world and the general feeling of these movies), they were building the audience for a future confrontation with Dumbledore or, at least, for more on-screen interaction, exploring their story. I felt disappointed that I couldn't get to see how that version of Grindelwald played out with Dumbledore (loved Jude Law as him, btw)...On the other hand, also felt like I could have easily loved seeing Mads Mikkelsen as Grindelwald from the start. This cut on the continuity just felt unfair to the audience (or me, at least) and both actors, because it's like none of them got to show their true potential as the character. This just left me emotionally confused!
I agree with some comments here, about some plot holes, especially regarding to characters. What happened to Nagini? Why is Tina only appearing in the end (she's busy with her new job, I get it, but still...)? Who is that new woman in Grindelwald's team and were did she came from? . Speaking of characters, I thought I would be bored with Newt, but I was wrong. He's actually a very interesting and fun character to watch - that line from Leta, in the previous movie, really stuck with me and I think describes him the best "You never met a monster you couldn't love". (Loved the scene with the crabs, by the way! Got me some Indiana Jones feels. :smile:) . Also liked the political twist on this one (reminded me of The Hunger Games, for some reason).
I guess not being well versed in the HP World might have helped me out in liking all 3 movies. This didn't feel completely satisfying as a possible ending (Queenie's return from the Dark Side and marrying Jacob was a plus, but Grindelwald and Credence's fate is still unclear, so...), but it was a good fantasy movie for me. Less so than the first two, but still entertaining.
