Since 1958, English author Michael Bond’s creation
Paddington Bear has enchanted people of all ages. With a love of
marmalade and attired with hat and duffel coat, the cute bear has spun off into
all sorts of different media. Films are a natural for the character with
‘Paddington 2’ picking up where the 2014 film left off. Charting the
further adventures of everyone’s favourite bear, ‘Paddington 2’ is fun nonsense
sure to shake the morose apathy of the most hardened movie-watcher.
Paddington is enjoying living life in Windsor Gardens with
his adopted family the Browns. Looked after by Henry (Hugh Bonneville)
and his wife Mary (Sally Hawkins) Paddington has become a popular member of the
community. When his Aunt Lucy celebrates her 100th birthday,
Paddington decides to purchase a special pop-up book for the occasion. On his
way to buy it, he is dismayed to discover it has been stolen. Accused of
the crime and sent to prison, he and his family determine to find the
culprit. A suspect emerges in Phoenix Buchanan (Hugh Grant) whose shady
ways are no match for the always clever bear.
‘Paddington 2’ succeeds because of its abundance of
charm. That’s the key to a successful children’s movie. If it
manages to have a modicum of enchanting charm then it’s halfway there.
‘Paddington 2’ has genuine feeling and depth without overly laying on the
sentimentality. It’s a credit to Paul King’s direction that we care about
an animated creature with Paddington’s innocent optimism a bonus instead of a sugar-coated
negative. The human cast do an excellent job in matching the film’s light
tone, diving into the fun adventure with glee.
Although the pacing occasionally drags, ‘Paddington 2’ is
consistently enjoyable viewing. The English locations are wonderfully
photographed, effectively capturing the original aura of the Paddington
books. It would have been easy making these films period pieces but the
modern setting works. There are no cynical remarks or bodily function
gags which could have robbed it of any timelessness. Years from now
‘Paddington 2’ should still stand up as quality family entertainment with the
action sequences and sense of awe never fading.
‘Paddington 2’ is a bouncy ride having the ‘wonder’ other
films lack. Sadly Michael Bond died a few months before this film was
released. But hopefully Paddington’s creator knew his legacy was in good
hands as ‘Paddington 2’ further cements the character’s popularity for further
generations to enjoy.
Movie Review Rating out of 10: 8
Movie Review by Patrick Moore
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