A string of violent robberies in the Pacific Northwest leads veteran FBI agent Terry Husk (Jude Law) to a white supremacist group; the group plans to overthrow the federal government.

Justin Kurzel is a filmmaker who is known for pushing these boundaries and who is unafraid to tackle subject matter from a slightly different viewpoint, as we’ve seen with his works such as Macbeth, Nitram and The True History of the Kelly Gang. There’s an almost punk rock sensibility to his style as a filmmaker, and his films are always captured in a rugged, gritty style. His style and aesthetic as a filmmaker are a perfect fit for The Order, the true story of a cat-and-mouse game between the FBI and a group of fringe white supremacists in the early 1980s, and the results are a gripping and psychologically intense piece of filmmaking.

At the centre of the picture is Jude Law makes a complete 180 turn as FBI Special Agent Terry Husk, a burn-out, scarred-up has-been who has been sent to the middle of nowhere America in Idaho and who stumbles upon a dangerous right-wing movement under the leadership of the white supremacist movement of the Aryan Nation, and a growing violent splinter faction that will become known as The Order. The character of Husk is something completely different for Law to take on, and he’s a volatile and snappy creature who is more than happy to move the line or take things too far if it means nabbing his prey, But a life lived on the edge has taken it’s toll on Husk, and it’s starting to show in this his last gunfight. Law delivers on the complete spectrum of emotions when it comes to Husk, and audiences will be prime by his intense and pulsating presence as he goes to extremes to make his arrests, and is willing to push any boundary to do it.

Playing opposite Law is Nicholas Hoult, who delivers a chilling portrayal of real-life white supremacist and domestic terrorist, Bob Matthews. With a volatile hatred for the US government and growing tired of the established white separatist moment under the Aryan Nations and its founder, the charismatic yet sinister Richard Butler, Matthews orchestrates a series of rapidly dangerous bank robberies in an effort to finance his plans for multiple terrorist attacks inspired by his obsession with the book, The Turner Diaries, a piece of White Supremacist fiction that delivers him his ideas for mass destruction. Hoult disappears into the role and delivers a performance of a fanatic who is as repulsive as he is fascinating, and his charismatic and terrifying performance grabs your attention as an audience member.

As a viewing experience, The Order is a powder keg of a movie that builds at a slow pace before erupting into moments of absolute carnage. Its storytelling is multilayered, and Kurzel builds a portrait of all of the characters, both law enforcement and the criminals and terrorists they are hunting. Kurzel also makes this picture very much a detective story, and we see Law’s Husk, an outsider, finding his way into this murky and dangerous new world that he uncovers in the picturesque country of America. It’s almost like there’s a hidden rot that he uncovers amongst the beautiful landscape of the open frontier, and Kurzel digs deep into the dangers that lie beneath the surface.

The fact that this film is based on a completely true story makes it all the more scarier, and Kurzel hones in on the detail of the film’s setting, and this makes the experience of the film that much more gripping and intense because of it. While it is primarily a cat-and-mouse detective story, Kurzel also brings a subtle Western quality to the storytelling and setting of the picture, and the final showdown between Husk and Matthews goes out with a literal bang!

Justin Kurzel’s The Order is a film that delivers on its palpable sense of dread with a narrative that unfolds methodically and amps up the tension for a gripping detective story. You’ll be holding your breath right up until the very end with this one.

Image: Prime Video

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With Gellert Grindelwald’s (Mads Mikkelsen) power rapidly growing, Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law) entrusts Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) and his friends with a mission leading to a clash with Grindelwald’s army. Dumbledore must also keep track of how long he will stay on the sidelines in the approaching war.

Moving from the late 1920s into the early 1930s, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore finds the Wizarding World gripped by the threat of growing darkness and chaos with the rise of the charismatically dangerous Gellert Grindelwald at the helm, and it’s going to take a plucky team of would-be heroes to stop him. This is the world and narrative that director David Yates introduces us to and the action builds quickly in this bold new chapter of the Fantastic Beasts saga. Looking to the film noir genre for inspiration, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore is a darker more intense experience for Potter fans, and Yates focuses his attention on building this film out as a globe-trotting adventure film.

Along with the fast-paced action of his narrative, Yates also builds out Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore as a team movie and focuses on an ensemble cast and the formation of Dumbledore’s ‘first army’ to combat the actions of Grindelwald adds to the excitement of the film. Along with quirky magic zoologist Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne), this team include his brother Theseus (Callum Turner); Ilvermorny tutor Professor Eulalie “Lally” Hicks (Jessica Williams); respected wizard Yusuf Kama (William Nadylam), Newt’s dedicated assistant Bunty Broadacre (Victoria Yeates) and Newt’s No-Maj friend Jacob Kowalski. All of these characters have an interesting part to play, and each actor brings a unique talent and skill which is in keeping with the classic team movie and Dumbledore’s plan.

Returning to the screen as the much respected and honoured British wizard and Hogwarts professor Albus Dumbledore is celebrated British thespian Jude Law and here he gets to expand on, and look deeper into the character of a younger Dumbledore. While we first met Dumbledore’s younger self back in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, here we get a far deeper picture of his role within the Wizarding World and his dark and complicated past. Key to this past was his one-time attraction to Gellert Grindelwald and it’s very clear that Law’s Dumbledore is seeking a path to redemption and is looking for a way to atone for his past transgressions. Law again plays this young Dumbledore with a keen inquisitiveness, along with the ability to think on his feet and act accordingly.

Making his debut in Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, and bringing a dangerous new threat to the Wizarding World is celebrated actor Mads Mikkelsen who takes on the role of Gellert Grindelwald. And he brings a devilish charm to the character. Mikkelsen brings an air of menace, authority and dangerous charisma to the character and whenever he’s on-screen you can’t take your eyes off of him. He brings an enticing and calculating quality to the character and you can see why so many would turn to the dark side in order to follow him. His confrontations with Law’s Dumbledore also play up well and their bitter and violent duel on the peaks of Bhutan, is a spectacle to behold as sparks fly and the action heats up.

Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore has amazing worldbuilding and some great key performances and audiences seeking a confrontation between light and dark in the form of Dumbledore vs Grindelwald will be well pleased.

Image: Warner Brothers Pictures

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Making good on his threat, Grindelwald (Johnny Depp) has escaped custody and has set about gathering followers, most unsuspecting of his true agenda: to raise pure-blood wizards up to rule over all non-magical beings. In an effort to thwart Grindelwald’s plans, Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law) enlists his former student Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne), who agrees to help, unaware of the dangers that lie ahead. Lines are drawn as love and loyalty are tested, even among the truest friends and family, in an increasingly divided wizarding world.

In The Crimes of Grindelwald things take a much darker turn and director David Yates takes this continuing story in a bold new direction. While his previous film, Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them, introduced us to a whole new time period of the Wizarding World in the 1920s, here in The Crimes Of Grindelwald, the Wizarding World is dealing with the fallout of the presence of dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald (Depp) and his escape from  MACUSA. Thrown into all of this is our magical zoologist hero Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) and once again he embarks on a journey that will take him to new locations and throw plenty of new obstacles and a host of new creatures in his way.

While I had expected Yates to merely follow on in the same direction, I really wasn’t expecting him to changes things up in the way that he did and I very greatful that he took this film in the direction that he did. Taking the setting to Paris, Yates guides us through a new corner of the magical world and gives the film a certain film noir polish thanks to his sepia inspired colour palette and the Art Nouveau styling of his Parisian setting. Sets, costuming, hair and make-up and extensive cinematography really pull you into this exotic European setting and just like all the other corners of the world, Paris has its own distinctive style of magic and you really sense its presence here. I loved the rich textures of the city and all of it pulled me deeper into the narrative that was presented up on screen.

I also believe this film noir, Art Nouveau styling also pulls out the film’s central theme of a world in conflict. While the shadows of the First World War are still being felt, dissension and diversion are in the air and Grindelwald’s escape has many on edge. Yates captures all of this for his audience, and you feel the mounting hostilities amongst our characters as they begin to question everything they have ever believed in. But do not despair for its not all doom and gloom and Newt once more takes some time to attend to his menagerie of magical creatures which feature many of our favourites, such as the devious little Niffler’s, and a host of fantastical new creatures such as the Zouwu, a Chinese lion type beast that gives Newt a good run for his money.

Part of every good sequel is that it should work to grow our characters and that is indeed what we find here. Eddie Redmayne is once again front and center as magical zoologist Newt Scamander and this time we get an insight into how his personality and mind works and how his past relationships have shaped him into the man he is today. This is most pressing with his estranged relationship with his one time love interest Leta Lestrange (Zoë Kravitz) and the friction that they share between one another leads to some very interesting narrative moments.

While The Crimes of Grindelwald certainly has an inherent darkness to it, Newt remains the hopeful optimist of the piece. Far from being your typical dragon slaying hero, Newt is a person who likes to find the possibility in the world and whose eternal belief in the power of goodness inside every individual makes him someone we want to look up to and root for. This is especially present in his search to find the troubled Credence Barebone (Ezra Miller), whom he once tried to help before and who is the fascination of every wizard for his extraordinarily dangerous Obscurus parasite that he keeps hidden from the world.

With a growing film franchise we’re also lucky enough to once again find ourselves in the presence of the great Albus Dumbledore who this time is plaid by the dashing Jude Law. Law’s performance is that of a confident, and supremely intelligent Dumbledore who knows more than he’s letting on and who sees the bigger picture that is at play with Grindelwald. I really liked the confidence that we saw in this younger Dumbledore and although he is already a fully-fledged professor at Hogwarts he is only beginning to develop the sage wisdom that will inform the character that a young Harry Potter will one day meet. Again it is the unexpected moments that I enjoyed here with Law’s Dumbledore and I can tell you that I’m excited to see more of him as we move down the line with later adaptations.

And finally there’s Johnny Depp who makes a triumphant return as Gellert Grindelwald. I still maintain that Depp is one of my favourite actors of all time and he really hits the ball out of the park here. Possessed of a creepy and adversarial intelligence, his performance as Grindelwald reminds me of a rock-god/revolutionary whose commitment to an ultimate vision is a very scary thing to behold. As a performer Depp is someone who imbues his whole being into a character and does everything he can to fall into them and this is entirely present here. As Grindelwald he carries himself with a dark elegance and his cast down eyes will fill you with dread. It’s a great return to form for the actor and I’m really excited to see what the next move is for this dark and dangerous wizard.

Thematically The Crimes Of Grindelwald asks its audience to question everything they hold dear and makes the point that in this divided world everyone must pick their side. The one character who doesn’t hold to any of this is Newt and its his stance as the outlier, who believes in the possibility of an inclusive world where everyone and everything has meaning that gives the film its hope.

And can I also say that you should expect plenty of shocks here as well. While I can’t go into anything without risking running into serious SPOILER territory I will say that the twists and turns come straight out of left field and this ending will leave your heart pounding.

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald really changes things up and it’s rocketing good time from beginning to end. It really shakes up the Wizarding World and if you’re a long time Rowling fan then you’ll seriously love this film.

Image: Roadshow Films.

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