The biggest complaint die-hard fans of the Harry Potter books had about the eight-film series was that it was not completely faithful to J.K. Rowling's story. Scenes and chapters were cut for time and overall movie-plot purposes. Someone from the production team admitted years ago that quite a lot of plots from the third film on were removed because they wanted to focus primarily on Harry's story, so subplots had to be sacrificed (many are still distressed over the missing House-elf and Hermione bits, and Neville's family backstory).

So, needless to say, Harry Potter book fans had their issues with the films. That, very thankfully, is not the case with Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and as such, it is a completely different film-going experience for a ride-or-die fan like yours truly.

It obviously helps that Rowling wrote the story herself, so it's guaranteed 100% canon within the Wizarding world. The biggest bonus for Fantastic Beasts is that there's no source material for Harry Potter fans to obsess over, be nit-picky about or defend to the high heavens because it's not compliant with the original story. The Fantastic Beasts movie IS the original story.

Knowing that while watching Fantastic Beasts will make it one of the most enjoyable film-going experiences for a Harry Potter fan, book lover and otherwise. True to Rowling's storytelling process, there's warmth, humor, an incredible amount of darkness and death, and beautifully-written, engaging characters in the movie.

Tens of millions of fans grew up to love Harry, Ron and Hermione in Hogwarts, and now the same generations and beyond will adore Newt Newt and his three new friends.

The movie itself follows Newt as he heads to New York City after a year-long expedition to find and save magical creatures around the world. His reason to head to the U.S. in early December 1926 is to free a 'fantastic beast' that is native to American soil. Somehow he finds himself bumping into No-Majes, Aurors and wizard-hating, segregated Americans who are constantly at each other's throats in a war fueled by ignorance and intolerance of one another.

That's just the start of it. As Newt embarks on his unexpected adventures, he befriends a pair of strong, talented American witches, and a No-Maj, and they find themselves in the middle of a much bigger battle than they anticipated. It's not just a Wizard war, it's not just a war in America, but on a much greater, scarier, global level. Gellert Grindelwald, the Wizarding supremacist dark wizard, wants the worldwide magical population to gain power over the non-magical, and - as it was noted in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - achieve 'The Greater Good' to force the non-magical community into their secondary, inferior place (in his eyes).

The first Fantastic Beasts installment easily works well as a stand-alone movie, where one can argue that the movie's end is enough to satisfy fans. It also, however, manages the dual role of setting up a much bigger storyline. Newt and his friends have just begun the fight to bring both magical and non-magical communities together, all the while trying to protect magical creatures. It's a big task for an awkward, slightly misanthropic fish-out-of-water like Newt, but with the help of his new friends, he takes it in stride.

The standout role, without a shadow of a doubt, is Dan Fogler's No-Maj Jacob Kowalski. Fogler plays humor, seriousness and total heartbreak with such conviction that it never matters that he can't create magic with a wand, because he brings a joy and life to the group - and the movie - that is much needed in growing dark times. Jacob is the best sidekick and much-needed friend to Newt (Eddie Redmayne), who has to learn to, quite frankly, loosen up around other people - and the best person to help with that is the streets-smart No-Maj.

Without giving too much away, J.K. Rowling's stories always have an unexpected twist or two. Fantastic Beasts is no exception. Yes, spoilers have been released, but the biggest twists have yet to really be revealed. When they're seen for the first time, audiences are in for shocking and spectacular surprises.

And this is just the incredible beginning. With four more movies to go, leading up to Grindelwald and Dumbledore's battle in 1945, there's no doubt that as the danger of the Wizarding world grows, so does the tight-knit camaraderie of Newt, Jacob, Queenie (played with grace and glamour by Alison Sudol) and tough but insecure Tina Goldstein (Katherine Waterston).

The major critique for the movie is that it requires better editing (it is quite clunky and choppy at the times) so scene transitions flow better. Plus, having learned so many deleted scenes and clips in the trailers were cut from the final movie, it's a shame that fans may not see them until the DVD is released next year (if at all).

Just one piece of advice - Fantastic Beasts is going to require repeat viewing, just like the Harry Potter books needed a few re-reads to pick up all the intricate details of the Wizarding world. Yours truly can say this having seen the movie three times already, and desperate to see it several times more.