It's very clear, watching these movies, that they're adapted from a branded guidebook. They have all the dramatic interest and excitement of a manual.

This entertaining Harry Potter prequel buries memories of the Grindelwald disaster.

While perhaps the best Fantastic Beasts film, The Secrets of Dumbledore remains a dour movie with lots to say but not enough imagination or understanding to say it well.

It’s too much of a good thing, and a dilution of a legacy brand.