FANTASTIC BEASTS: THE CRIMES OF GRINDELWALD starts about six months after the first one ends in a prelude that shows how Grindlewald (Johnny Depp) escapes in one of the better sequences of the movie. Then it flashes three months later in Great Britain where Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) is going up before the Ministry of Magic again for the fifth time to get his travel papers reinstated. We are introduced to his brother Thesus and Leta LeStrange who is about to marry Newt's brother. All of this is part of a set-up that includes Dumbledore (Jude Law) who wants Newt to covertly travel from England to Paris to stop Grindelwald's latest plot to recruit Credence (who somehow escaped his fate in New York City) and is in love with a woman who changes into a snake. Meanwhile, Newt is met at his home by Queenie and his old Muggle friend Jacob (Dan Fogler) who is under an enchantment by Queenie. You see a brief look at Newt's zoo of magical animals before that.

The big problem with this sequel amounts to at least two or three things. The title refers to crimes of Grinelwald where Grindelwald really doesn't do much in ways of crimes after he escapes. He has his followers do that as he has a gathering planned to recruit wizards to his way of thinking. FANTASTIC BEASTS: THE CRIMES OF GRINDELWALD has a bad title and it has lots of plot introduced without allowing it time to breathe for 20 to 30 minutes more. This is your basic setup movie for future sequels. It is nice to see old characters again, Hogwarts features in a couple of scenes, and a great cast set against great production values. Some characters seem a little grumpy, awkward, and sometimes out of character compared to the first FANTASTIC BEASTS. Maybe this second movie in the series will get higher regard once we see how all of this set-up plays in future movies.

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