Honestly the critics don't know what they're talking about. I had an absolute blast watching this film. The first one had more 'hunting magical beasts vibe' but that was really just a character piece to get you to know who Newt is. His character is amazing and the story shifts into 100% on this main plot now, it has traction, it knows it's audience. This is a much darker movie that the first as well and honestly I'm wanting to watch it a second time. It's that good, critics be damned.