A | A bear living in London gets arrested for robbery and must clear his name. Directed by Paul King Starring Ben Whishaw, Sally Hawkins, and Hugh Grant Review by Jon Kissel |
Of all the sequels in all the world, it’s only a scarce few that top their respective originals. Even the best sequels, like Godfather Part II and The Empire Strikes Back, have plenty of honest detractors who prefer what came before. There’s always that feeling of discovery that is associated with a franchise’s first entry, as well as the dangling suspicion that the sequel is more of a commercial enterprise than a creative one, especially in recent cinematic history when a list of any given year’s top grossing films is dominated by remakes and next chapters in ongoing stories. Paddington 2 avoids that stink by replicating the warmth and charm of the original and incorporating indelible new characters. It also has the gift of timeliness, a pitch for friendliness and good faith towards one’s neighbors when the world seems to be taking the opposite stance. Paul King’s film qualifies as one of 2018’s biggest surprises, a joy delivery system that takes what works from the original Paddington and crushes it into a diamond of irresistible delight.
Firmly ensconced and adored in the Brown household, Paddington (Ben Whishaw) has made himself the toast of the neighborhood. He knows everyone’s routines and what he can do to brighten each of their mornings, good deeds that the Peruvian jungle bear commits daily. As he’s made a place for himself in his small corner of London, he wants to send his Aunt Lucy (Imelda Staunton) a token of his good fortune and hopefully coax her to make her own trip to the city from darkest Peru, where she’s still residing. Local oddities shop proprietor Samuel Gruber (Jim Broadbent) has just the item; a pop-up of London that’s the next best thing to visiting. As it costs more than the sum total of the coins in Paddington’s ear, he gets to work as a window washer to raise the funds. However, when Paddington and the Browns (Hugh Bonneville, Sally Hawkins, Madeleine Harris, Samuel Joslin, and Julie Walters) run into washed-up actor Phoenix Buchanan (Hugh Grant) at a carnival and mentions the book, Buchanan’s interest is piqued and not because he wants to buy a gift for his aunt. The actor steals the book, framing Paddington in the process and landing the bear in jail, with only a single marmalade sandwich to keep him company.
The first half hour of Paddington 2 plays out much like the 2014 original, with the requisite Rube Goldberg-ian pratfalls involving Paddington making a mess. This is all well and good, as the characters retain their charms and then some. King begins to repeat himself, as is expected for a family-friendly sequel, but Paddington 2 truly steps out on its own path once Paddington is sent to jail. The film leaves the Final Destination-esque mishaps behind in exchange for impeccable comedy bits and lengthy tracking shots. The original had some of the former, though not as much as exists here, and none of the latter, and while the chaotic escalation was nothing to sneeze at, the tracking shots induce open-mouthed astonishment. King includes several over the course of the film, each more incredible than the last. The grand finale culminates in a sensory overload, moving from an emotional scene immediately into an ecstatic one and leaving the viewer wholly satisfied.
Ben Whishaw as Paddington continues to do excellent work, unfailingly polite and good-natured and quick with the repartee. The Browns are able support, with Bonneville doing un-self-conscious work, Hawkins appealingly daffy, and the teens ably demonstrating adolescent obsessions and weaknesses. For who wins the film, however, it’s a toss-up between new additions Grant and Brendan Gleeson as Knuckles McGinty, the gruff prison cook. Grant’s Buchanan is a formerly famous thespian reduced to doing degrading dog food commercials, a state not as dire as Grant’s own but not completely dissimilar. Paddington 2 should be for Grant what Buchanan longs for; a vault back into a respectable tier of actor. Grant has never been better, a pompous man who pretends he loves people, a vain man who doesn’t mind putting on a giant dog suit, a famous face with a thousand costumes. Gleeson, on the other hand, has no need for a comeback, but Paddington 2 may well open up a new comedic career for him. He’s a flawless straight man to Paddington, a bear who never met a sourpuss he couldn’t sweeten. McGinty is plenty sour, but he’s no match for a hard stare and a well-placed marmalade sandwich. A good chunk of Gleeson’s goodwill is simply his pronunciation of words like ‘bagwette’ and the high register in which he says ‘mar-ma-lade’ when hearing the word for the first time. Gleeson has the slight edge over Grant, but then Grant is at the center of that joyous final scene, so being forced to choose one or the other is difficult and unnecessary. They’re both great, and so is their film.
Paddington’s motto of ‘if you’re kind and polite, the world will be right’ is a balm for the London of the film and a suitable takeaway for any family film. So many of those go with an affirmational optimism as their message, a clarion call to achieve big things and dream past the point of realistic outcomes. Instead, Paddington simply demonstrates the value of a small gesture, gestures that accumulate and do the work of improving people’s lives. Paddington 2 opens with a baby Paddington first meeting Aunt Lucy and Uncle Pastuzo (Albert Finney), when they saved him from a river and raised him as their own. Their good deed radiates out into the world, until a prison has been transformed into a Wes Andersonian wonderland. Film critic David Ehrlich put Paddington 2 into the category of ‘nicecore,’ a style of film where earnestness and good humor carry the day. In the future, when nicecore films are regularly delivering salves to the soul, we’ll have Paddington 2 to thank. A-
The first half hour of Paddington 2 plays out much like the 2014 original, with the requisite Rube Goldberg-ian pratfalls involving Paddington making a mess. This is all well and good, as the characters retain their charms and then some. King begins to repeat himself, as is expected for a family-friendly sequel, but Paddington 2 truly steps out on its own path once Paddington is sent to jail. The film leaves the Final Destination-esque mishaps behind in exchange for impeccable comedy bits and lengthy tracking shots. The original had some of the former, though not as much as exists here, and none of the latter, and while the chaotic escalation was nothing to sneeze at, the tracking shots induce open-mouthed astonishment. King includes several over the course of the film, each more incredible than the last. The grand finale culminates in a sensory overload, moving from an emotional scene immediately into an ecstatic one and leaving the viewer wholly satisfied.
Ben Whishaw as Paddington continues to do excellent work, unfailingly polite and good-natured and quick with the repartee. The Browns are able support, with Bonneville doing un-self-conscious work, Hawkins appealingly daffy, and the teens ably demonstrating adolescent obsessions and weaknesses. For who wins the film, however, it’s a toss-up between new additions Grant and Brendan Gleeson as Knuckles McGinty, the gruff prison cook. Grant’s Buchanan is a formerly famous thespian reduced to doing degrading dog food commercials, a state not as dire as Grant’s own but not completely dissimilar. Paddington 2 should be for Grant what Buchanan longs for; a vault back into a respectable tier of actor. Grant has never been better, a pompous man who pretends he loves people, a vain man who doesn’t mind putting on a giant dog suit, a famous face with a thousand costumes. Gleeson, on the other hand, has no need for a comeback, but Paddington 2 may well open up a new comedic career for him. He’s a flawless straight man to Paddington, a bear who never met a sourpuss he couldn’t sweeten. McGinty is plenty sour, but he’s no match for a hard stare and a well-placed marmalade sandwich. A good chunk of Gleeson’s goodwill is simply his pronunciation of words like ‘bagwette’ and the high register in which he says ‘mar-ma-lade’ when hearing the word for the first time. Gleeson has the slight edge over Grant, but then Grant is at the center of that joyous final scene, so being forced to choose one or the other is difficult and unnecessary. They’re both great, and so is their film.
Paddington’s motto of ‘if you’re kind and polite, the world will be right’ is a balm for the London of the film and a suitable takeaway for any family film. So many of those go with an affirmational optimism as their message, a clarion call to achieve big things and dream past the point of realistic outcomes. Instead, Paddington simply demonstrates the value of a small gesture, gestures that accumulate and do the work of improving people’s lives. Paddington 2 opens with a baby Paddington first meeting Aunt Lucy and Uncle Pastuzo (Albert Finney), when they saved him from a river and raised him as their own. Their good deed radiates out into the world, until a prison has been transformed into a Wes Andersonian wonderland. Film critic David Ehrlich put Paddington 2 into the category of ‘nicecore,’ a style of film where earnestness and good humor carry the day. In the future, when nicecore films are regularly delivering salves to the soul, we’ll have Paddington 2 to thank. A-
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