I
thoroughly enjoyed the first Paddington, but I had no idea how much I’d love
the second one. Paddington 2 is a
beautiful, enchanting, and heartwarming motion picture that children of all ages
will enjoy. That’s not something I
expected to feel when I went to see it, but it’s the truth. I’m a guy who generally likes slasher,
exploitation, and grindhouse types of movies.
However, I am not immune to the charms of a cute bear in a red hat.
Paddington
2 isn’t quite as dark as the first film.
This time around, the villain (a delightful Hugh Grant) isn’t out to
kill and stuff the poor bear, just frame him and send him to jail. The fact that an adorable bear like
Paddington is going to The Big House is distressing in its own right. Since Paddington has a way of spreading cheer
wherever he goes, it’s safe to say that he won’t be in the clink for long.
In
fact, this is the best prison movie since The Shawshank Redemption.
If
this was just a cute bear movie, it would be one thing. Director Paul King, who has apparently
decided not to rest on his laurels his second go-round, ups his craftsmanship
game to 11. There are some positively
jaw-dropping sequences here that are as good as anything Orson Welles ever did
with a camera. The pop-up book sequence
is one of the most technically proficient scenes I’ve seen in some time. Not only is it exhilarating on a technical
level, it is a beautiful and enchanting moment that gives the audience a taste
of Paddington’s aspirations. Once King
has laid out Paddington’s dreams in such a wonderful manner, you’d be totally
heartless not to root for him throughout the rest of the picture.
Not
only is the film heartfelt and genuinely moving, it’s also quite
hilarious. The extended sequence where
Paddington, ever trying to do a good deed, tries his hand at washing windows is
reminiscent of Charlie Chaplin. Heck,
later in the film there is even a direct Chaplin homage that is also very
funny. Hugh Grant also gets lots of
laughs as the dastardly villain, the wonderfully named Phoenix Buchanan.
In
short, Paddington 2 is The Godfather 2 of talking bear movies. It’s also the second-best film I’ve seen this
month in which Sally Hawkins invites an animal with humanlike features into her
home and shares a touching underwater scene with it. If that isn’t a rave review, I don’t know
what is.
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