Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald

Going in: I'm not a fan of Harry Potter. I've seen them all and I think they're good in their own right, but not something I fell in love with. I was expecting this to be a 7/10.

Popcorn: 5/10. I didn't like this movie. I thought it was completely unnecessary and an excuse for a third movie. I liked the visuals and there was one twist. But other than that, I just wasn't that impressed.

Art: 6/10. There were some cool things but I left the theater thinking that there was a lot of fat that could have been trimmed.

Acting: 2/3. There are some high quality actors in this movie, but I didn't see anything that impressed me. I also didn't see anything that pulled me out either.

Music: 1/2. There was a subtle callback to the original score that I really liked. Other than that, it was just mediocre.

Filming: 1/2. This is the first time I was pulled out of the movie by some lighting choices. The story happens in two cities: London and Paris. I couldn't tell the difference during one cut other than a red phone booth in the background.

Art Dept: 1/2. Nothing spectacular here other than the creatures and the CGI. I loved that Zouwu.

Editing: 1/2. There was one scene where it made me a little dizzy. It was a little too much.

Story: 2/4. I went back and forth on a 2 or a 3 on this one. It wasn't a great story. There were some elements I liked but for the most part, it just seemed to be a story that didn't need to be told - like POTC 2. At the end, I felt kind of cheated. I feel like it was a movie that could have been reduced to a scene or two in flashback or storytelling.

Directing: 2/3. There were some things that were good, but for the most part, it was just an emotionless journey that ultimately led to nowhere.

Production: 1/2. This was worth seeing on the big screen, but I'm not sure it was worth seeing.