Review Detail

Unfortunately this extended edition did not live up to my expectations based on JJPotter's Harry Potter extended editions. While those edits seamlessly integrated deleted scenes that I would not have been able to pick out without my familiarity with the originals, here they almost all stood out in an unpleasant way. Two are easy to fix as they had inconsistent volume levels. The first (owlery) was far too loud while the second (Grindelwald) was too quiet. In both cases I was compelled to adjust my volume several levels to match the volume of the rest of the film. The other two cases are a result of source material limitations. The unfinished CGI stood out quite badly both in the Newt & brother conversation as well as the wand security check scenes. This is especially disappointing since those are the deleted scenes I otherwise enjoyed most. I had also made the assumption that JJ wasn't incorporating scenes with unfinished vfx in these extended edits so seeing them surprised me. The deleted scenes don't really add much, other than a nice character moment or two, to the narrative (which is a bit messy, though it has some excellent scenes sprinkled throughout), nor do they detract (aside from the aforementioned issues). In all other respects (placement, transitions, etc.) they are as well incorporated as I expect they can be.