After the conclusion of the highly successful Harry Potter films in 2011, the millions of fans of the world J.K. Rowling had crafted still wanted more out of their beloved franchise.

Rowling, along with Warner Bros., gave the fans just that through merchandising, theme park attractions, digital publishing sites, and West End plays. All of these were built upon the “Wizarding World” while still earning them a hefty paycheck.

As the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the recent Star Wars films prove, even the simplest act of further building the world and scope of successful properties has a remarkable amount of untapped potential for individual storytelling and opportunities for more sequels and box office hits.

Thus, Warner Bros. have gone back to the Wizarding World to showcase the untold stories of the Harry Potter universe with their first installment: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

Set in 1920s New York, Eddie Redmayne plays the role of the eccentric Newt Scamander, the future author of Fantastic Beasts who carries around a briefcase containing dozens of magical creatures for research, and came to America for personal business.

After a mix-up causes a couple of the beasts to escape, Newt relies on the help of former Auror, Tina Goldstein and Jacob Kowalski, a Muggle cannery worker accidentally exposed to magic, to reclaim some of his briefcase residents.

“Harry Potter fans can expect a lot of Easter Eggs and world-building containing Rowling’s keen sense of creativity.”

While this is going on, the American Aurors struggle with protecting the Wizarding World from the rest of New York (dubbed “No-Majs”), especially when a dark force becomes associated with a magic persecution group named the New Salem Philanthropic Society.

The primary issue of the movie is that the tone and topics of the two main plotlines often feel like they are clashing with each other. It keeps the obligations of the heroes and antagonist completely seperate until the last third of the movie.

One half of the movie is about an ordinary man experiencing the wonders of the Wizarding World with a quirky traveler that has a zoo in his suitcase and a reluctant magical cop to capture fascinating creatures, while the other half deals with political agendas, witch hunts, and child abuse.

It’s like a Pokemon and Doctor Who crossover keeps cutting to The Crucible featuring the X-Men. We’re given a lot of characters and story, but not a structure to keep the tone and development balanced.

Many of the supporting actors shine as their characters, such as Dan Fogler as the bumbling, yet likeable Kowalski, and Katherine Waterson as the conflicted Tina.

However, the movie didn’t sell me on the supposed main protagonist, Newt Scamander.

Redmayne mumbles through most of his lines, doesn’t have a commanding presence as the film’s lead, and lacks the chemistry that the other performers have with each other.

The film expects us to believe that he got something out of the whole experience, but even Newt himself admits that he didn’t really have much character development in the film.

Any chance we have to learn more about his backstory is quickly negated, which is a shame, because those were the only opportunities to showcase further dimensions of his character or personality and try to connect the two plots together in a decent fashion.

“We’re given a lot of characters and story, but not a structure to keep the tone and development balanced.”

This is especially concerning given how Warner Bros. plans to have sequels to the movie, and it sounds like he’s the only one guaranteed to return in them.

The issue isn’t that Newt is playing second fiddle in what’s supposed to be his own movie (as Mad Max: Fury Road demonstrates that particular issue doesn’t always hinder a film),  it’s that there isn’t enough about him for me to care about, and that his role felt forced in the climax of the movie, which also had an ending that felt somewhat unsatisfactory.

That being said, Harry Potter fans can expect a lot of Easter Eggs and world-building containing Rowling’s keen sense of creativity.

The costumes and character designs stand out (as evidenced by the recent Oscar grab), and the creatures, while a bit overly CG sometimes, still have that magical charm in design and functionality that made us fall in love with the franchise to begin with.

It was also intriguing to see the differences 1920s American wizardry had in comparison to the terms and rules we’re used to hearing from the previous films.

There are also plenty of new locations to absorb with wonder, such as Newt’s suitcase, the Auror headquarters, and an underground Goblin bar featuring Hellboy himself Ron Perlman serving up drinks while making magical mafia deals.

However, the inclusion of a particular character with an actor cameo that I can’t mention felt forced and demonstrated the film’s priority on world-building rather than a coherent plot structure. The twist could only be servicable towards harcore Potter fans while everyone else is left scratching their heads.

As a spin-off of the franchise, Fantastic Beasts does have fun action, likeable characters, and a welcome return to J.K. Rowling’s beloved magical world, but the emphasis on world-building had a negative impact on keeping the plot balanced. While I would recommend it to Harry Potter fans, I’d be hesitant to do the same for casual movie-goers. Then again, given the franchise’s popularity, the latter might be the harder ones to find.