Eddie Redmayne’s shy character Newt Scamander is no Harry Potter, at least not yet. But “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald,” the second in the projected five-movie franchise written by J.K. Rowling, displays enough of the author’s magical formula and Dickensian narrative power.

The story picks up in 1927, six months after the first film ends. The New York authorities governing magic have locked up the shape-changing Grindelwald, a Nazi avatar* who wants pure-blood wizards — no mixed-bloods allowed — to rule over humans. A set piece early in the film signals how much action and darkness are ahead. Grindelwald escapes prison and flies through the night sky like an evil Santa, driving a carriage drawn by Thestrals, the black, winged dragonlike creatures familiar from the Potter world.

As Newt, back in London, tries to stop Grindelwald from taking over* the world, he meets a colorful gallery of  sidekicks*, villains and family members. His brother, Theseus (Calum Turner), is engaged to Leta Lestrange (Zoe Kravitz), once Newt’s girlfriend, as we see in flashbacks* to their teenage years at Hogwarts. On a bridge in the London fog, Newt meets with his former teacher, Albus Dumbledore, played to perfection by Jude Law.

Dumbledore asks Newt to do what, for mysterious reasons, Dumbledore himself cannot: go to Paris to capture Grindelwald. Instead, Newt returns to an apartment that is very much like his suitcase. Inside, it expands to include a zoo and even an entry to the open sea.

What lures Newt to Paris is the prospect* of finding Tina (Katherine Waterston), the investigator of dark wizards whom he left behind in New York. She is searching for Credence Barebone (played again by Ezra Miller), who unleashed destruction on Manhattan last time around, and who is torn between good and evil. Waterston isn’t asked to do much more than walk through this movie, but Newt’s other sidekicks are spirited enough to offset* that. Newt’s friend Jacob (Dan Fogler), the down-to-earth non-magical baker, adds a gleeful, odd-couple, buddy-movie thread to the film.

(SD-Agencies)