Review of Paddington 2 (2017) by Gemsicle — 23 Mar 2022

With Paddington finally safe with the Browns in harmony after dealing with the diabolical Millicent Bystander, I mean just Millicent...the bear cub is back with an unanticipated payoff in a sequel. Wait, a payoff? That is right, in this glorious family film that strikes again with a vengeance. When I said the first film was like Paddington being on his own for the first time, just like a fresh high school grad goes off to college or moves into his or her own house, this one shows a secondary function when certain unexpected dilemmas can clash into you and have to think fast to get yourself out of it. Paddington works until he loses his fur to pay for a surprise book that he wants to give to his aunt for her one hundredth lap lap around the sun. He becomes treated in the opposite way of the first film: a jailed hero when mistakenly accused. There is great satire in this movie when it becomes stylized in the same way as the films acclaimed films One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and The Shawshank Redemption when there is motivation involved to inmates. Most movies do not always result the way as planned, but there is always maximum effort shown by the characters.

I do not only see Paddington 2 as a rare sequel that is better than its predecessor, but I see it as a film that makes the characters revitalize their self-identities and hope, even if a coincidence is likely to ensue.