Overview: Professor Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law) knows the powerful Dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald (Mads Mikkelsen) is moving to seize control of the wizarding world. Unable to stop him alone, he entrusts Magizoologist Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) to lead an intrepid team of wizards, witches and one brave Muggle baker on a dangerous mission, where they encounter old and new beasts and clash with Grindelwald’s growing legion of followers.

But with the stakes so high, how long can Dumbledore remain on the sidelines?

4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Verdict: Warner Bros. is expanding their 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray catalog offerings this month with the release of the highly-anticipated Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore in the expansive 4K Ultra HD video format this June 28th, 2022.

For my money, this Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore [4K Ultra HD + Digital] combo pack sharpness takes a fairly large step forward from others in their 4K Ultra HD catalog and even comes with HDR (High Dynamic Range) for the complete 4K Ultra HD experience, of course.

So, what we have is Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore presented to us as a two-disc combo pack with a sheet for a Digital HD Copy. Other stand out points you should know are: Codec: HEVC / H.265, Resolution: Native 4K (2160p), HDR: HDR10 and Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1.

Featuring Dolby Vision and HDR10 for brighter, deeper, and way more lifelike colors, as with most all 4K UHDs, everything that we watch features these qualities - but somehow, this film gloriously shines within them all.

Noticeably crisp with the overall clarity receiving an obvious boost here on this release, what is more is that it is enjoyably noticeable.

For as well as some new nuances to the somewhat drab palette courtesy of Dolby Vision we also get to witness sudden bright pops of color; such as one of the most memorable scenes, when Jacob gets pranked by the Slytherins!

Mr. Kowalski may be the only Muggle in history to ever step foot inside Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. According to Hermione in Goblet of Fire (the book, not the movie), any Muggle who approaches the school will see a crumbling old ruin and a danger sign. How can Jacob see it? The only explanation that makes sense is that Dumbledore lifted the enchantment for him and him alone.

He eats breakfast in the Great Hall, hangs out with the students, shows off the wand he got “for Christmas,” and happily talks about how a group of Slytherin students gave him a bag of candy. Newt bursts his bubble by informing Jacob that he’s actually eating one of the most unappealing confections known to wizarding kind: Cockroach Clusters.

Jacob’s look of disgust and fury is priceless, though based on what we know about Slytherin attitudes toward non-magical peoples, the prank could have been much worse.

Indeed, the picture enjoys the fruits of the added resolution in terms of bringing out the aforementioned extremely fine facial and some of the yellow graded material; notably the scene - which also recalls to mind the Mirror Dimension antics of Doctor Strange over in the MCU - the battle between Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law) and Credence Barebone/Aurelius Dumbledore (Ezra Miller), which is one of the biggest action set pieces in this movie!

Played out on the streets of 1930s Berlin (the location and time period carry a lot of thematic weight here), the duel finds Albus relying on a device that Harry Potter fans know well: the Deluminator.

Most likely applying the same principles that allowed Ron to find Harry and Hermione in Deathly Hallows, the magical artifact — which Dumbledore invented himself — seems to transport the two fighters into a reflective universe that can be destroyed without harm or exposure to the surrounding Muggles.

As for the audio, well we have a veritable smorgasbord of choice here: English: Dolby Atmos, English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit), English: Dolby Digital 5.1 (320 kbps), French (Canada): Dolby Digital 5.1 and Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 (448 kbps).

Overall, this is a very strong 4K HDR Blu-ray presentation, and, for the most part, the audio track remains fairly similar to its DTS-HD counterpart; with much of the action occupying the surrounds with outstanding directionality and placement where effects flawlessly pan between the sides and rears.

As for the movie itself, well, the third installment of the Fantastic Beasts franchise was eagerly awaited not just for Jude Law’s first full-length portrayal of the beloved character, but since the world wanted to see whether Mads Mikkelsen would rise to the challenge, having been called up to replace Johnny Depp in the role of Gellert Grindelwald.

After having been embroiled in a barrage of scandals over allegations of marital abuse by his ex-wife and actress Amber Heard, Warner Brothers were forced to replace Depp with the accomplished Danish actor, who, thankfully, delivers a rousing performance, laced with more stoicism and emotion than the more naturally eccentric and vivacious Depp.

We join our beloved magizoologist Newt Scamander (played by Oscar-winner Eddy Redmayne) and friends as they look to stop the rampage of the evil Grindelwald across Europe and put together the original Dumbledore’s Army, immortalized by the Harry Potter film and book series.

Having put in place a blood pact with his former lover Grindelwald, Dumbledore is unable to directly act against him and instead resorts to assembling a rag-tag but intrepid bunch of wizards along with the bumbling but immensely likeable muggle Jacob Kowalksi (played by the splendid Dan Fogler).

Jude Law is exceptional in his portrayal of the world’s most powerful wizard, radiating gravitas and depth in every scene he is in and his combination sequences with Mikkelsen deliver some of the best sequences in the franchise, across its three installments so far. Newt’s constant companions - the sassy Bowtruckle and the kleptomaniac Niffler - deliver moments of delight and comedy even while the story is on a knife edge.

Redmayne, Fogler and the deliciously outlandish Alison Sudol (Queenie Goldstein, reminiscent of Luna Lovegood from the Harry Potter series) remain on point with their performances just like in previous editions. However, the rest of the supporting cast including Richard Coyle, Jessica Williams, Callum Turner and even the usually dependable Ezra Miller (Credence) fail to create any lasting impression.

The stakes definitely go up in this edition, with Grindelwald trying to manipulate the election for the Supreme Leadership position of the International Confederation of Wizards and this is reflected in the enhanced CGI and Visual Effects employed by director David Yates with the visual impact coming across in full force via 3D in theaters, trust me.

The wizarding duels are neatly choreographed and intricately shot and are definitely an enhancement over what we have been used to so far in the Harry Potter and the larger Wizarding World franchises so far and cinematographer George Richmond deserves high praise for delivering such impactful frames at every juncture.

The writing, however, waxes and wanes with many high points in terms of confrontations and battles not backed up by character development or emotional depth. The Porpentina-Newt romance which was the cornerstone of the first two installments is dealt with clumsily by the director, and we see no growth in the character arcs of any of the protagonists we have seen and fallen in love with.

Also, the twists in the story line can be seen a mile away and with the franchise expanding to five films from the original three, one can see the unresolved threads being put in place for future films.

Despite sluggish writing, Jude Law, Eddy Redmayne and Mads Mikkelsen’s immaculate performances and the top-draw CGI and production design and comforting throwbacks and references to the Harry Potter lexicon make this a cozy weekend watch.

Lovingly embedded with a viewing pleasure that lies in the visual effects and the stylish wizardry and duels, set your expectations right and you won’t be disappointed!

DIGITAL, 4K, BLU-RAY & DVD ELEMENTS:
“Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore” Premium Digital Ownership contains the following special features:
1. The Dumbledore Family Tree
2. Dumbledore Through the Ages
3. Magical or Muggle
4. The Magic of Hogwarts
5. Even More Fantastic Beasts
6. Newt in the Wild
7. The German Ministry of Magic
8. A Dumbledore Duel
9. The Candidates’ Dinner
10. Erkstag Jailbreak
11. Battle in Bhutan
12. The Secrets of Cursed Child
13. Deleted Scenes

“Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore” 4K UHD combo pack and Blu-ray contain the following special features:
1. The Dumbledore Family Tree
2. Dumbledore Through the Ages
3. Magical or Muggle
4. The Magic of Hogwarts
5. Even More Fantastic Beasts
6. Newt in the Wild
7. The German Ministry of Magic
8. A Dumbledore Duel
9. The Candidates’ Dinner
10. Erkstag Jailbreak
11. Battle in Bhutan
12. The Secrets of Cursed Child
13. Deleted Scenes

“Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore” DVD contains the following special feature:
1. The Magic of Hogwarts

Experience the newest adventure in the Wizarding World™ when “Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore” arrives for Premium Digital Ownership at home on May 30th, 2022.

The film is directed by David Yates from a screenplay by J.K. Rowling & Steve Kloves, based upon a screenplay by Rowling, and stars Oscar winner Eddie Redmayne (“The Theory of Everything”) and two-time Oscar nominee Jude Law (“Cold Mountain,” “The Talented Mr. Ripley”). The film will also be available to stream on HBO Max on May 30th and will be available on 4K UHD, Blu-ray and DVD beginning on June 28th, 2022.

The film’s ensemble cast also includes Ezra Miller, Dan Fogler, Alison Sudol, William Nadylam, Callum Turner, Jessica Williams, Victoria Yeates, Poppy Corby-Tuech, Fiona Glascott, Katherine Waterston, Maria Fernanda Cândido, Richard Coyle, Oliver Masucci, Valerie Pachner, Aleksandr Kuznetsov, and Mads Mikkelsen.

The film was produced by David Heyman, Rowling, Steve Kloves, Lionel Wigram and Tim Lewis, with Neil Blair, Danny Cohen, Josh Berger, Courtenay Valenti and Michael Shar executive producing.

Official Trailer

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