Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Warner Bros. | Release Date: November 18, 2016 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
66
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 50 Critic Reviews
Positive:
33
Mixed:
15
Negative:
2
Watch Now
Stream On
Buy on
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Expand

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
60
SlateDan KoisNov 17, 2016
While it’s a decent table-setter and a welcome return to a magical world that many of us love dearly, it’s no Force Awakens, bogged down as it is by exposition, dull characters, and sludgy pacing. Read full review
60
Village VoiceBilge EbiriNov 16, 2016
Fantastic Beasts is often lovely to look at, at times even stirring, but there's very little to hold on to, story- or character-wise. Read full review
60
We Got This CoveredMatt DonatoNov 16, 2016
Fantastic Beasts is both a slice of magical monster mayhem and severely underwritten storytelling, landing somewhere between “pretty passable” and “zany fun” – but certainly nothing fantastic. Read full review
60
TimeStephanie ZacharekNov 16, 2016
The picture—directed by David Yates, who also gave us the last four Harry Potter films, terrific ones—feels both sprawling and crowded, as if it were trying to pack too much mythology into one cramped crawlspace. Read full review
60
EmpireHelen O'HaraNov 12, 2016
Big, bold and teeming with imagination, it is so busy world-building that it occasionally forgets to have fun. But with this heavy lifting done, there’s every reason to hope for an even more magical adventure next time. Read full review
60
ScreenCrushE. Oliver WhitneyNov 12, 2016
Fantastic Beasts is a good movie, and offers a fun and inventive return to Rowling’s wizarding world, but it could have been a better movie if didn’t waste so much time setting up a new franchise. Read full review
60
Total FilmJamie GrahamNov 12, 2016
What Fantastic Beasts lacks in wonderment it almost makes up for in scares and subtext. Read full review
58
The A.V. ClubIgnatiy VishnevetskyNov 16, 2016
Patchy but occasionally charming, the Harry Potter spin-off Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them delivers most of what has come to be expected from J.K. Rowling’s book series and its successful film adaptations. Read full review
58
Tampa Bay TimesSteve PersallNov 15, 2016
Not even J.K. Rowling can say abracadabra and make a worthwhile movie franchise appear. The lightning that struck Harry Potter once merely grazes Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, turning the sorcerer's mentor into a fantasy apprentice. Read full review
50
Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternNov 17, 2016
We can all use more magic in our lives, and that promise is fulfilled quite delightfully at first. But extravagant creatures of digital descent can’t sustain a story that does little more than set the scene for a long string of sequels. Read full review
50
MTV NewsAmy NicholsonNov 16, 2016
Newt lacks soul. So, too, does his movie. Read full review
50
New York PostSara StewartNov 16, 2016
Unfortunately, the cast of characters you’ll find here is a pale imitation of her Hogwarts heroes. Read full review
50
Movie NationRoger MooreNov 16, 2016
Perhaps some adults can lose themselves in this world, reveling in the magic, plumbing for Rowling’s themes and deeper meaning. Not me. Read full review
42
The Film StageDaniel SchindelNov 16, 2016
This is Marvel imitation at its most tedious. It’s particularly disappointing given how, in her original Harry Potter books, screenwriter J.K. Rowling demonstrated a deft ability to put in subtle foreshadowing and use characters and elements that would later take on new significance. Read full review
40
New York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinNov 17, 2016
The movie might pass muster for kids weaned on the Harry Potter films — I shudder to think of the movies that pleased me when I was 7 or 8 — and uncritical critics. But you’d have to be desperate for another Potter fix to think this is magical entertainment. It’s thoroughly No-Maj. Read full review
More From This Movie

66 Critic Reviews

7.2 User Reviews

Details & Credits|Trailers

Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 77 Project Hail Mary
2 75 Send Help
3 73 Hoppers
4 72 The Sheep Detectives
5 68 Crime 101
SEE ALL
Essential Links
New on Amazon Prime Video
New on Netflix
Coming Soon to DVD/Blu-ray
SEE ALL