I saw the first Paddington movie and I really enjoyed it. With Paddington 2 I actually enjoyed it even more than the first movie. Normally sequels can be a bit of a letdown, often the 2nd film is just to capitalise on the first movie. This time around, I think Paddington 2 bucks the trend and is a wonderfully written and presented movie.
From deepest darkest Peru, Paddington was left in Paddington station with a tag. “Look after this bear”. The Brown family took Paddington into their lives in a quiet sleepy street at Windsor Gardens.
Hugh Bonneville and Sally Hawkins return in Paddington 2 and they are joined by a struggling actor who is on hard times, namely Hugh Grant. (I’m not slagging him, you need to see the movie to understand the Hugh Grant statement).
The story of Paddington 2 revolves around a pop-up book which Paddington wants to buy for Aunt Lucy. However, the pop-up book is over £1,000 and Paddington needs to get a job to buy the book. So, Paddington’s first job is a disaster at a barbershop, shaving a line of hair from Tom Conti who plays an angry judge
Hugh Grant now arrives on the scene as the villain. He plays a self-absorbed West End acting “legend” called Phoenix Buchanan. Basically, Hugh Grant was asked to overact and then overact again to become an egotistical method actor.
Phoenix Buchanan (Hugh Grant) finds out about the antique pop-up book after Paddington tells him about it. Apparently, the book is key to a long-lost treasure stash. Paddington is then framed for the robbery of the book and sentenced to 10 years in jail.
Paddington makes a few unlikely friends in prison. His sweet ways mean that he doesn’t understand why a nasty chef can’t be his friend. Paddington confronts the terrifying chef Knuckles (played by Brendan Gleeson) and eventually, they become befriended through the means of an errant marmalade sandwich. There is a lot of fun to be had with he convict Paddington and eventually he wants to get the book and prove his innocence.
From here on, I’m not going to get into the nitty gritty of the plot as there is a lot of laughs and also some sad scenes for Paddington …. you may have a period of severe worry during this film, so mind the young ones at it.
I found that most of the laughs were to be had with Paddington, Hugh Grant and Brendan Gleeson and Grant. The script is expertly written and there are a lot of jokes aimed at the adults or older kids too. The graphics are surreal and at times you question if Paddington is real, especially the scene at the barbers where his fur moves in sync with the razor.
I really Paddington 2. BBC Film critic Mark Kermode says, if you laugh 6 times it is a comedy. I can tell you that at Paddington 2, I laughed 6 times in the opening 10 minutes and about 6 times every 10 minutes after that! Paddington 2 is a worthwhile film to see. It is entertaining, charming and worth the admission fee!
Official Trailer – Paddington 2
My Score – Paddington 2
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