Review of Paddington 2 (2017) by K Nife C — 24 Jan 2018

If you ever need a way to deduce whether or not a person is a sociopath, just show them Paddington 2 and gauge their emotional response. If they neither laugh nor cry, they have more than likely been torturing small animals for pleasure before watching this delightful family film with you. Well, that might not be the best recommended method for knowing the darkness in a man's soul, but I know despite my sadistic and murderous tendencies I swayed between weeping and giggling within 20 minutes.

I've mostly written off kids movies in the past because they're usually underwritten and simplistic and, worst of all, safe. After hearing Mark Kermode gush over the original, I thought I'd supplement one of my triple feature outings to the cinema with the sequel, and I was not disappointed. Not only is the movie well written and briskly paced, there are so many great detailed touches to all of the characters, and on occasion, a little edge to the humor (but never a tasteless one). The greatest fun of Paddington's physical gags are the messy hi-jinks, the delicate domino fumbles of various adhesives, strings, and food items that all culminate in an orchestra of chaotic silliness. Most importantly, the comedic writing assumes that the audience, kids and adults alike, are all intelligent enough to keep up with the dialogue and ideas, and it rewards you with laughter for paying close attention.

As expected, Sally Hawkins was just lovely, Brendan Gleeson recites several of his lines from In Bruges, and Hugh Grant goofs it up as an unruly, self-obsessed actor and the film's antagonist. It's always a treat to see every British actor in a single movie, and this is just one Gary Oldman shy of a Harry Potter film. It's not a hard sell to anyone who would like some whimsical fun with a talking bear set in a prison. I'm off to watch the original now.