2016 saw the release of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. An American-set prequel to the Harry Potter series, the film was flawed, but had elements of charm. Regardless, the film was a financial success, leading to a sequel, The Crimes of Grindelwald. This second part, of a future 5-film series, expands on the story, adds new revelations and introduces several new characters. However, while there is a lot of plot, there’s little to be invested in. The film has so much plot and details squeezed in, it feels more like a set-up to future movies than an actual movie. That’s not to say a set-up film can’t be entertaining, but there’s nothing to get excited over here. It’s a messy film that needed some serious revisions.

Some of the best parts of the first Fantastic Beasts were the titular beasts themselves. They were fun and well-designed, and the moments featuring just them messing around New York were quite charming. The same applies to Grindelwald. Any scenes featuring Newt’s trove of monsters is delightful. The big new addition, a chinese lion-dragon hybrid, is the definite highlight. Unfortunately, the beasts are surprisingly few and far between.

The film’s main focus involves Newt Scamander, played once again by Eddie Redmayne, attempting to take down the evil wizard Gellert Grindelwald, portrayed by Johnny Depp. The film also features subplots consisting of Credence, played by Ezra Miller, discovering his past, the introduction of Leta Lestrange, played by Zoe Kravitz, who has a history with Newt and Jacob Kowalski and Queenie Goldstein, played respectively by Dan Fogler and Alison Sudol, attempting to fight against the “no wizard/No-Maj marriage” law. In short, for a film called Fantastic Beasts, there aren’t very many fantastic beasts.

However, the problem isn’t the lack of beasts, but the script. J. K. Rowling is far from a bad writer. Her Harry Potter books are beloved for a reason. But her roots as a novel writer is apparent in both Fantastic Beasts screenplays, especially Grindelwald. There are so many plots going on, and so many characters to follow. The film wants to try and juggle all of these stories, but there’s a rushed pace to the whole film. The third act in particular is especially bad. There’s multiple backstories introduced, Grindelwald explaining his evil plans and a few story arcs wrapped up. There’s no real strong pace as the film instead shoves out so much exposition.

The story problems also relate to the characters and their personalities. Jude Law and Johnny Depp as Dumbledore and Grindelwald are enjoyable, but severely underwritten. Newt is thrust into the story with little motivation, while Credence’s plot feels juxtaposed to the rest of the film. All that’s here is good actors playing undefined characters just going through the motions. Only Jacob and Queenie, like in the first movie, deliver, both in performance and character. They have a great chemistry and clearly care about one another. I still think a movie featuring those two would be more compelling.

While the first Fantastic Beasts wasn’t great, there was still a hint of the charm and magic that made the original Harry Potter films entertaining. But Crimes of Grindelwald, though trying its best, just feels like a chore. While future installments might be better, the Fantastic Beasts series has thus far been underwhelming to say the least.