I never read a Harry Potter book but I loved every one of the films. I found myself totally hooked by the magic of the movies, the young cast, the progressively dark turn of the story.

Now with the Fantastic Beasts movies I’ve noticed that I don’t find myself as hooked with these characters as I hoped. That isn’t too say Newt Scamander and his collection of misfit friends and wizards isn’t charming. It’s just that something seems to be missing.

I loved the first film, found the second to be less than appetizing but this third time around I had a blast again and think this might be the strongest of the three. But even with that being said something still felt off.

This time around Professor Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law( knows the powerful Dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald (Mads Mikkelsen) is moving to seize control of the wizarding world. Unable to stop him alone, he entrusts Magizoologist New Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) to lead an intrepid team of wizards, witches and one brave Muggle baker on a dangerous mission, where they encounter old and new beasts and clash with Grindelwald’s growing legion of followers. But with the stakes so high, how long can Dumbledore remain on the sidelines?

Again, this might be the strongest of the three and is visually striking. They course correct a lot of the things the second film got wrong. Newt is not thrown to the sidelines this time, though Queenie’s sister Tina Goldstein essentially sits this one out. But Law fits in nicely as Dumbledore this time around, and say what you want about the situation but Mikkelsen’s entry into the franchise is a nice addition. And it must be said that Dan Fogler steals every scene. A few of the characters act as plot devices like Credence Barebone (Ezra Miller). We spent a lot of the last film on his leanings and lineage, this time around he is pretty much a set up for Dumbledore and Grindelwald in crucial moments of “Which way will he go?”

This is overall a good film, it avoids the problems from the previous film. It’s striking, has an engaging cast, and brings some good drama but it’s biggest pitfall is that this franchise seems to be treading water and unsure which way to go. Should it be it’s own prequel? Should it tie into the larger Harry Potter world? Should we focus on known characters over new ones? It can’t pick a direction and that’s the most frustrating thing. This franchise has so much it can offer but seems to abide by the “if it isn’t broke don’t fix it” model.

3 out of 5