Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.0

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Randy Miller III March 2, 2019

Note: All screenshots appearing on this page are sourced from a 1080p Blu-ray disc. Please read my separate Blu-ray review of this title for 20 additional images.

As the tenth film in J.K. Rowling's massive "Wizarding World" film saga -- predated by all eight Harry Potter films (2011-2011) and the prequel film Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016) -- David Yates' Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018) is a direct follow-up to its predecessor. It continues the adventures of meek young British wizard Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) soon after his part in the revelation and defeat of evil wizard Gellert Grindelwald (Johnny Depp), who was sent to prison under the authority of the Magical Congress of the United States of America. After Grindelwald violently escapes during his transfer to London for trial, he begins amassing an army of followers to establish control over non-magic users. Perhaps the only one capable of stopping Grindelwald is his one-time friend, the elusive wizard Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law), who enlists the help of Newt to do so.

There's a lot to unpack during The Crimes of Grindelwald, but not all of it feels worth the effort. This is a dense and complex film overstuffed with characters -- many returning from the first Fantastic Beasts -- but at 134 minutes, a deliberate and careful pace would certainly allow enough time to divide up all the details. Yet as it wears on, The Crimes of Grindelwald feels more like a burden than a fun and exciting adventure. It's a mostly dark and grim affair that ultimately carries much less charm than the first outing, and the lack of balance doesn't make me all that excited at the prospect of a planned three more films in the Fantastic Beasts saga. It's not that the series feels like it's out of ideas; if anything, it suffers from too many as the plot wears on...but the way they're treated is akin to throwing everything at the wall just to see what sticks. Though it certainly has a number of great characters and moments -- huge twists, betrayals, clever magic, fantastic beasts (sorry), and a truly expansive atmosphere -- this lack of balance robs an otherwise decent film of most of its heart. Possibly a first for any film in the Wizarding World.

Luckily, the performances here elevate otherwise drab story elements. Eddie Redmayne is, again, a big part of what gives this second film some of its charm: he's proven to be a reliably good fit for the character's meek but likable demeanor."Perpetual underdog" sounds like an insult, but it works in his favor just as well the second time around. Jude Law, though obviously filling big shoes by portraying such a beloved character in the Potter Universe, likewise has a natural warmth and familiarity that fits Dumbledore like a glove. Equally well-matched is Johnny Depp, resurrected in full force as the evil wizard, who imbues his character with all the charisma needed to be the believable leader of a cult. Also returning in good form are Dan Fogler as Jacob Kowalski, who accompanies Newt on the road (hat?) to Paris, and other reliable supporting performances by Claudia Kim (the blood-cursed Nagini), Ezra Miller (the unstable Credence Barebone), Katherine Waterston (Tina Goldstein, an Auror in the Magical Congress), and others.

Overall, The Crimes of Grindelwald is clearly a step down from its predecessor but, thanks to the performances and visually ambitious atmosphere, it's still worth at least a once-over if you enjoyed the first film. Again, the downturn in overall balance and heart doesn't make me excited for future installments...but considering the franchise's total batting average at this point, let's hope the creative team learns from their mistakes. Luckily, those who enjoyed The Crimes of Grindelwald theatrically will likewise appreciate Warner Bros.' 4K edition, which also includes a Blu-ray. The 4K disc serves up a superior technical presentation that takes advantage of HDR, while the Blu-ray includes over an hour's worth of quality bonus features (not counting an alternate Extended Cut, but more on that later). It's well-rounded support for a film that, if I'm being perfectly honest, needed the extra help.

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Unlike its predecessor, The Crimes of Grindelwald was shot on an Arri Alexa 65 with an ARRIRAW 6.5K source format and 4K digital intermediate.

Presented in its approximate original aspect ratio of 2.40:1, The Crimes of Grindelwald looks extremely impressive in 4K. This is a finely textured and razor-sharp 2160p transfer that easily outpaces the already great Blu-ray transfer in almost every department and showcases a tremendous amount of depth, detail, and color. The latter is boosted significantly by the full benefits of HDR, which go a long way in bringing rich and interesting colors out of dark backgrounds -- of which there are plenty -- while effects-driven segments like magic spells and the Circus Arcanus are given new life by the more refined levels of saturation. Skin tones always look appropriate for the setting (and species), with even the more muted sequences -- again, of which there are plenty -- displaying a subtle range of varied colors that ensure we're not just looking at the same boring range of dark blues and grays.

As for the more traditional elements of 4K, textures offer the most obvious improvement: costume designs and establishing shots (Paris and London skylines, especially) reveal a staggering amount of detail, with close-ups bordering on three-dimensional. The Crimes of Grindelwald's detailed production design is loaded with background details, all of which are more evident with the format's increased resolution. Digital imperfections such as banding, compression artifacts, black crush, and noise reduction are basically absent from start to finish, while even the foggiest London scenes are handled without a hitch. Overall, this one of the better-looking 4K discs n recent memory, especially due to its challenging source material. I doubt that anyone's going to find very much to complain about here.

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Dolby Atmos presentation (which unfolds to a Dolby TrueHD 7.1 mix if you're not set up for Atmos) is equally impressive, as there's a great deal of surround activity and presence on display from start to finish: swirling spells, mystical creatures, bustling crowds, and more contribute to a very busy sound stage that's extremely active for the most part...but it's not without quiet moments, and those sound great as well. Dialogue is crisp and clear with no sync issues, the music enjoys an extremely full and dynamic presence when needed, and channel separation is quite strong from start to finish. Quite simply, it's a great-sounding track that complements the film well and, though it doesn't appear to be specially mixed for home theaters, the volume balance between quiet and loud scenes is kept well within reasonable limits. My only complaint is that low frequency effects don't sound quite as strong as they should during certain moments but, since I didn't see the film theatrically, that may be part of the source material.

Side note: Cheers to Warner Bros. for not adding a redundant DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track -- it's not necessary since Atmos pulls double duty by self-converting, and they were often made the default for some reason.

Optional subtitles have been included during the main feature and all appropriate extras, with the choices differentiated by disc. A few stray lines of foreign dialogue, real or imagine, also feature burnt-in subtitles; both texts are attractive, non-intrusive, and placed within the 2.40:1 frame.

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

All extras listed below are included on the Blu-ray disc, as the 4K UHD disc is movie-only.

• "J.K. Rowling: A World Revealed" (10:15) - In this short piece, the author (and screenwriter/producer for The Crimes of Grindelwald) talks about moving beyond Hogwarts, the challenges of adapting a more complex story, editing down and revising her work for the screen, avoiding "good guys vs. bad guys", and much more. Producer David Heyman and director David Yates also contribute a few comments along the way. Clips from other Rowling films including the first Fantastic Beasts, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, The Order of the Phoenix, The Goblet of Fire, and The Chamber of Secrets are also shown briefly.

• "Wizards on Screen, Fans in Real Life" (19:22) follows cast members / superfans Ezra Miller (Credence Barebone) and Evanna Lynch (Luna Lovegood) as they meet to view scenes from the film for the first time and talk about their introductions to (and lasting interest in) the books and subsequent films. Stories from the set, personal memories, casting, critiquing their own work, and more are also discussed, while the finished scenes they watch are given an impromptu audio commentary of sorts. This piece is obviously more light and fluffy than technical, but it's still worth a once-over for those who have followed the franchise for years.

• "Distinctly Dumbledore" (9:31) features director David Yates, producer David Heyman, costume designer Colleen Atwood, and Jude Law (Dumbledore, naturally) as they speak about the younger version of the character portrayed in this series, getting the part, first introductions, approaching the character, other portrayals in Harry Potter movies (several of which are, again, featured in clips), and other related topics.

• "Unlocking Scene Secrets" (6 clips, 49:09 total) breaks down a handful of notable scenes from the film, which include comments from many of the cast and crew members listed above as well as VFX supervisors Christian Manz and Tim Burke, supervising art director Martin Foley, actors Eddie Redmayne (Newt Scamander) and Johnny Depp (Grindelwald), production designer Stuart Craig, and others. These six scenes include "The Return to Hogwarts", "Newt's Menagerie", "Credence, Nagini and the Circus Arcanus", "Paris and Place Cachée", "Ministere des Affaires Magiques", and "Grindelwald's Escape and the Ring of Fire". Footage from the set, as well as production artwork and other designs, are also seen along the way. It's easily the best supplement on this set and feels more like mini-documentary than a collection of brief featurettes.

• Deleted Scenes (10 clips, 14:23 total) - These include "Credence Reborn", "At the Docks", "Walk N Talk", "Tina and Skender", "Newt's Basement", "Murmuration", "Newt and Jacob Walk to Kama's", "Nagini and Credence in Alley", and "Dumbledore and McGonagall". Although in very good condition overall, a handful of these scenes do not include finished visual effects.

NOTE: An Extended Cut of the film is also advertised, but it's only redeemable via the Digital Copy code. This is listed as being approximately 7 minutes longer than the theatrical version, and presumably just adds in a few of the deleted and extended scenes above. Unfortunately, it was not redeemable at the time of this writing.

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

As a franchise, I'm not the biggest Fantastic Beasts fan -- more from lack of long-term experience than personal preference -- but even within those boundaries, it's obvious that The Crimes of Grindenwald is a somewhat uneven film that struggles to maintain momentum as it lurches forward. There are a lot of characters here and only about half are of real interest, which makes the film's overstuffed plot feel all the more bloated instead of lightweight, fun, and energetic. Still, there are a few genuinely great moments and many of the lead performances (Eddie Redmayne, Johnny Depp, Ezra Miller, Evanna Lynch, and others) carry their own weight, while the special effects are well done and, for the most part, blend seamlessly into the film's ambitious world. Though I can't recommend Warner Bros.' 4K edition for the film itself, die-hard fans -- and those on the fence -- will appreciate the outstanding A/V presentation and solid bonus features, probably even more than I did. Its technical merits make this the version to get if you're a die-hard fan, but everyone else will probably be happy with the standard Blu-ray edition.