There is also Newt’s coolly patrician brother Theseus (Callum Turner), as competent and unfazed as a John Buchan character, and Professor Lally Hicks, stylishly played by Jessica Williams, provides the intellectual steel, wizard Yusuf Kama (William Nadylam) will further upset the applecart and Newt’s jolly-hockey-sticks assistant Bunty Broadacre (Victoria Yeates) has a bit of a non-serious crush on our hero. Jacob Kowalski (played by the excellent Dan Fogler) is the muggle – or in American, no-maj – New York baker, still poignantly in love with Queenie Goldstein (Alison Sudol) who has gone over to the Grindelian dark side for reasons still to be teased out. Newt and Grindelwald have each captured a vitally important fantastic beast that will play a key part in the voting process and now Dumbledore is directing a new crew of good guys to tackle Grindelwald’s malevolent strategy, as he prepares to grab control of the wizarding world with a mandate to pursue a hateful war against the non-magic peoples. The movie takes us into the world of 1930s Europe and Weimar Berlin Grindelwald happens to be in prison and is planning to gain absolute control of the wizarding world when he gets out, by the accepted democratic route if that is convenient.

Mikkelsen gives a subtler and more insidious performance than Depp’s, and the “pale eye” effect is more restrained.

Mads Mikkelsen has been brought into the series to replace the now problematic Johnny Depp in the role of Gellert Grindelwald, the evil wizard who once had a close relationship with Albus Dumbledore himself (played by Jude Law with a twinklingly donnish manner and beard).

Dumbledore secrets