Review of Paddington (2014) by Casey A — 27 Feb 2015

Paddington suffers from a severe lack of ambition; it seems as though, out of fear of venturing too far from the typical family movie formula, the filmmakers have shoehorned in every clichà (C) possible.

The profound message, direct and purposeful storytelling, and comical foolishness of the source material are all sorely bereft. In a misdirected and all-too-safe attempt at creating an adaptation of the classic children's story that would resemble modern family cinema, an antagonist is superfluously woven into the plot, the typical broken family of uncool parents and bratty teenagers is thrown into the mix, and a slew of fast-paced, Rube Goldberg-esque scenes of whimsical action serve as intermissions entirely absent of substance, with enough fast-moving colors to satisfy younger audiences.

As far as family movies go, Paddington is a predictable heap of wasted opportunity. As an adaptation of such a classic book, it is an unpredictably distasteful contortion of an originally delightful story, and, likewise, a waste of opportunity.

Even Paddington's (the bear, that is) inherent charm and beautiful CGI rendering, which manage to be the film's redeeming qualities, cannot make up for its many flaws.