Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald

If you want science fiction that respects its own premise, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald is available in Australia on HBO Max, and in the US on HBO Max Amazon Channel and Peacock Premium right now. The length is exactly right for the story it is telling — nothing rushed, nothing dragged out. A 7/10 rating says what the writing already makes obvious: this one works. Eddie Redmayne anchors it with a performance that grounds the bigger ideas in something human. Put it on tonight on HBO Max and see for yourself.

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald is not trying to be everything to everyone, and that focus is exactly what makes it work. What makes Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald work is that the ideas never crowd out the people having them. Gellert Grindelwald has escaped imprisonment and has begun gathering followers to his cause—elevating wizards above all non-magical beings. The only one capable of putting a stop to him is the wizard he once called his closest friend, Albus Dumbledore. However, Dumbledore will need to seek help from the wizard who had thwarted Grindelwald once before, his former student Newt Scamander, who agrees to help, unaware of the dangers that lie ahead. Eddie Redmayne and Katherine Waterston lead a cast that keeps the bigger ideas grounded in something human. It hit screens in 2018. What separates Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald from lesser genre entertainment is a willingness to let the concept cost the characters something. It delivers reliably on what it promises, which is more than most of its competition manages.

Sci-fi fans who want ideas alongside the spectacle will find Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald genuinely rewarding. If you have run out of similar titles to watch, this is a strong next pick. Short enough to finish in one sitting, substantial enough to feel satisfying. Eddie Redmayne anchors it with a performance that makes the more abstract moments feel personal. If you have been burned by ambitious sci-fi before, this is the exception.