By Susan JAMES

One of the strengths of the Harry Potter series was the way in which it reflected the wondrous nature of magic. Funny things happened. Mysterious things happened. But Harry’s particular gift, as Dumbledore told him so many times, was the ability to love. Love equals hope.

In the second installment of “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” that hope hasn’t merely dimmed, it’s all but gone out. Magic should be, well, magical but, in spite of having the Potter dream team in charge, a script by J. K. Rowling, direction by David Yates and production design by Stuart Craig, the story grows darker with every scene. Hope seems as fragile as the baby raven the young Newt nurses in secret as a student at Hogwarts.

“Crimes” opens where the first installment left off. Evil wizard Gellert Grindelwald, former BFF of Albus Dumbledore, has been captured and is being transferred from American custody to British. Anyone who has watched a police drama knows that this will not end well. In a frantic action sequence of churning Thestrals, smashing broomsticks and quick flicking identities, Grindelwald escapes. This isn’t a spoiler as we know the duel between former besties Albus and Gellert is coming up … just not in this movie.

With Grindelwald once more on the loose and gathering followers, Eddie Redmayne’s bumblingly sweet Newt Scamander tries to keep his eye on fantastic beasts and away from the collapsing political situation. That doesn’t go so well either.

Production designer Stuart Craig has continued his take on a monotonic world where the only flashes of color are the fantastic beasts, of which we simply don’t see enough. The few scenes that take us back to early Hogwarts with the young Dumbledore (Jude Law) presiding over boggart lessons create a nostalgia for those innocent early Potter days when the worst thing that could happen was Neville falling off his broomstick. “Fantastic Beasts” might as well be another world.

New characters flesh out the four around whom the first installment revolved: Newt, Tina, Queenie and the wonderful Jacob Kowalski (Dan Fogler), a wide-eyed Muggle boy in wonderland. With his white hair, sketchy mustache and disconcertingly bi-colored eyes, Johnny Depp gnashes the scenery as Gellert Grindelwald, a new Voldemort for another age. Newt’s brother, Theseus, makes a welcome appearance and a now-grown-up Credence Barebone (Ezra Miller), the conflicted heart of the story, is even more conflicted than ever as he searches for his real identity.

What Rowling has done with “Fantastic Beasts” is to give us another take on Harry Potter themes. Harry was the Chosen Child raised by Dumbledore to destroy the evil Voldemort. In an inversion of this plot, Credence is the Chosen Child acquired by the evil Grindelwald as a weapon to kill Dumbledore. Against this storyline, Rowling has delivered a wizarding world version of the build-up of 20th century fascism complete with groupspeak, cult loyalties and deluded followers. That some of our heroes may be seduced by the dark side features as one of the movie’s tragedies.

It’s a grim ride but we do know that there’s hope for the future.

See you at the movies!

  susan james