Paddington in Peru

Review: Oh that silly marmalade loving bear. In his third outing Ben Whishaw tries to recapture the magic he has previously brought as Paddington & mostly succeeds. The film is fun & very solid, though it doesn’t quite live up to the previous two. In its defense, the second film is unironically one of the best reviewed movies ever. Along with Whishaw, the film features returning cast members Hugh Bonneville, Madeleine Harris, & Samuel Joslin as the Browns, Julie Walters as Mrs. Bird, Jim Broadbent as Mr. Gruber, & Imelda Staunton as the voice of Aunt Lucy. It also features newcomers Emily Mortimer (taking over the role of Mrs. Brown from Sally Hawkins), Antonio Banderas, & Olivia Colman. I’m not sure who could watch these films & not enjoy them.

High: The second half of this film is STRONG. If you like the first two ‘Paddington’ films, you will eat it up. It really recreates the magic of its predecessors. It’s silly, fun, and adventurous, as well as extremely satisfying & heartwarming. These films are everything you could want from them. The problem is…

Low: It takes a little long to get there. The first act of this film is SLOW. It’s obvious what’s going to happen, but they take so long making it happen. It’s obvious who the villain turns are going to be. If the first 45 of this minutes were condensed to 20 and then the last half was given that extra time, I think this film would’ve benefited greatly.

Rating: 7.5/10