Films > Film Reviews

Paddington II

Cinema City

11/11/17

The first Paddington film was such an utter joy from beginning to end that it felt a matter of weary inevitability that the sequel would fall short of the high bar set by its predecessor. With a heady mix of relief and delight, I am pleased to report that Paddington 2 defies such speculation. Joining the ranks of Toy Story 2, The Godfather and Aliens it is a sequel that is every bit as good as the original.

Happily ensconced with the Brown family, we find Paddington pondering over what to buy Aunt Lucy for her birthday. His choice of a pop-up picture book, magically brought to life with a stunning animation sequence, is the catalyst for the adventure that takes up the bulk of the movie. Along the way we see countless cameos from the great and the good of British acting, as if everyone wants to join in the party, though never at the expense of the film’s momentum. On the contrary, freed from the exposition of Paddington’s arrival in London, after a healthy dose of slapstick fun, Paul King gets stuck straight into the action, allowing the film to develop into a caper that is far more satisfying than the wafer-thin villainy of Nicole Kidman’s Millicent Clyde.

Instead we are gifted Hugh Grant's superb, scene-stealing Phoenix Buchanan, a character that feels like a heightened version of St Clair Bayfield, the failed actor Grant played so effectively in Florence Foster Jenkins. Consolidating his reinvention as a character actor with unrivalled comic timing, Grant casts a long shadow over Sally Hawkins and Hugh Bonneville, who are perfectly fine but have markedly less to do this time.

Meanwhile, Paddington has a comic rival of his own, in the shape of Brendan Gleeson’s beautifully realised Knuckles McGinty, the fearsome prison cook won over by the magic taste of marmalade. Such is Gleeson’s eccentric ways, that for a while it looks like the little bear might end up the straight man in his own movie. It is, thankfully, a passing phase, and as the disparate strands of Simon Farnaby’s meticulously constructed screenplay come together, there are still huge laughs to be had. There are thrills too, and genuine jeopardy, but also an extraordinary depth and pathos that belies its fanciful plotting. Time and again, the film startles and confounds with its imaginative telling of a truly magical tale.

All of which is of course helped in no small part by Ben Whishaw’s faultless ability to capture the voice of Paddington, and by the bear’s expert CGI rendering. On both counts, however, this is a judgement that can only be made in hindsight. When Paddington is running across the top of the train, or is struggling to escape the depths of a river, or is simply staggering around with a bucket stuck on his head, such thoughts never cross your mind. For ninety minutes, this is a real bear we’re watching, and one that touches everyone’s heart, through his sweet natured wish to see the best in everyone.