Sorry Johnny Depp: Mads Mikkelsen Should’ve Played Grindelwald From The Start [CRITICS]
Critics argue that Mads Mikkelsen, not Johnny Depp, should have played Grindelwald from the start.
Many other film reviewers complimented Mikkelsen's performance in "Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore" when he took over for Depp in the trilogy.
In the third movie, which was published this month, the 56-year-old actor played the malevolent wizard.
Depp was dropped from the Warner Bros. project a week before it was scheduled to begin filming. This was owing to the beleaguered actor being granted permission to appeal his libel defeat in the High Court, which determined that a report about him assaulting his ex-wife Amber Heard was "basically factual."
Despite this, many film reviewers have praised Mikkelsen's acting abilities, particularly his ability to adapt to the character for which Depp was most known.
Some, like The Telegraph's Robbie Cullen, believe he should have played Grindelwald from the outset.
Other reviewers praised Mikkelsen for outperforming Depp, who was the first to introduce the audience to the wicked wizard in the 2016 film "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them," which was subsequently followed by the 2018 sequel, "The Crimes of Grindelwald."
"Mikkelsen slips into the part of Grindelwald so seamlessly that it's easy to forget Depp ever portrayed the role," writes Insider's Kirsten Acuna.
She went on to say that it was difficult to follow Depp because he played so many eccentric characters over the years, whereas Mikkelsen plays Grindelwald "with a suave, charming charisma that convinces you of why anyone would be seduced by this alluring, handsome wizard and be suckered into fighting a war for him."
Meanwhile, Variety's Peter Debruge praised Mads Mikkelsen's persona as "less cartoonishly."
According to The Guardian's Peter Bradshaw, Grindelwald provides a "subtler and more sinister performance" than Johnny Depp.
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Fans also praised Mads Mikkelsen's performance in the film, with some stating he was "literally born to be Grindelwald."
Some were even regretful for preferring Mikkelsen over Depp as the actor who best portrayed Grindelwald.
In an interview with EW before taking over the job, Mads Mikkelsen revealed that he believed it would be difficult to play the character from Depp since he would have to construct a bridge between himself and Depp while still making it his own.
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