Paddington wants to buy a handmade pop-up book for his Aunt Lucy’s birthday and sets out to graft honestly, if chaotically, to earn the money, only to have the book snatched away by the chicanery of a showboating actor who believes himself immune from suspicion by virtue of the nonstick coating provided by his celebrity.Įrrant luvvie Phoenix Buchanan (Hugh Grant on deliriously hammy form) is just one of the moreish treats in this gelato-hued comedic feast.
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If the first film was a pro-immigration rallying call for multiculturalism, the second explores themes only a bear’s-hair-breadth less political. And Paddington, with his ingrained decency, generosity of spirit and unshakable faith in the value of good manners, cements himself as a slightly sticky beacon of hope for these dark and unsettled times. It’s November now so it’s safe to say (although realistically I would have said this about Paddington 2 in bleakest January) – this is the feel-good film of the year.T he sequel to the big-hearted film debut of the small bear from darkest Peru is a full-on charm offensive of a movie. The jokes are amusing, the characters are loveable and never too much, the screen is always gorgeous. There are clever political plot points, but it’s never too preachy or pedagogical. It takes everything that was good about the first film and builds upon it. This is, above all, an accomplished sequel.
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After all, a red phone box never really goes out of style. Some lovely visual touches from King and a truly charming script are enhanced by brilliant CGI and stunning visuals (hat-tip to cinematographer Erik Wilson) and a wonderful Wes Anderson-esque world that’s guaranteed to delight young and old. Really, it puts a lot of other more ‘high-brow’ pieces of cinema to shame here is a relatively simple story done well. There really isn’t much to say about this film other than that it is wonderful – sweeter than our hero’s absolute favourite marmalade. Hugh Grant camps it up to an alarmingly entertaining degree in possibly his best role That being said, the ensemble cast are roundly excellent – there’s Hugh Bonneville as the beleaguered Mr Brown, an immensely loveable Sally Hawkins as Mrs Brown, vibrant Julie Walters as housekeeper Mrs Bird and a whole host of other household names, from Sanjeev Bhaskar, Jim Broadbent and Brendan Gleeson to Richard Ayoade, Joanna Lumley and Peter Capaldi.
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Grant is, undeniably, the star of the film, no matter how cute Paddington is nor how excellently voiced the bear is by Whishaw. There’s a winning blend of knowing humour for the adults and family-friendly fun that make this the perfect pre-Christmas cinema trip. Unlike other very recent sequels (cough, A Bad Moms Christmas, cough), the jokes and punchlines and payoffs in the screenplay (written by King, Simon Farnaby and Jon Croker) don’t feel tired or too try-hard. In an unlikely parallel to the Emmy-winning The Night Of, Paddington makes a friend on the inside (Brendan Gleeson’s volatile Knuckles), and hatches a plan to save his name and his aunt’s book. Of course, nothing is ever as simple as it seems, and before long Paddington finds himself wrongly accused, fighting to clear his name and unjustly incarcerated. There’s something about this world means it’s not so weird that a small South American bear should take on an evil London actor in a quest over a book.