Paddington 2 *** (2017, Hugh Bonneville, Sally Hawkins, Hugh Grant, Brendan Gleeson, voice of Ben Whishaw) – Movie Review

Paddington 2 plods pleasantly along in its likeably retro sort of way, with most of it very pleasing and enjoyable. The nice and warm script is OK, though the strain shows a bit this time, as carving out a sequel seems more effortful than writing the sweet first Paddington back in 2014. The film looks very smart, a vintage treat. Paddington Bear is beautifully animated and wildly appealing, just sitting there begging you to adore him.

The performances by the local luvvies are game, though mostly amateurish, with the Brit performers trying to spark it up with panto-style performances. Oh no they’re not! Oh yes they are! There are some very good laughs in Paul King and Simon Farnaby’s script, though some not so good, and some just tame or obvious. The story is a bit so what, with a much-hammered home MacGuffin-type thing about a pop-up book leading to the treasure everyone is after.

Who’d have thought that Brendan Gleeson could be funny? But here he is, slapstick funny, and giving the show’s most expert performance as the prison cook Knuckles McGinty. There is a lot, maybe too much, of Hugh Grant as the villain, a has-been famous actor called Phoenix Buchanan. He is quite good, nothing devastating, or hilarious, but certainly good enough, probably as good as the material allows. He’s funny in some of his disguises later in the film, showing off his versatility.

But then who’d have thought Julie Walters could be bad? She really needs to work on her Scots accent, if that’s what it is, as Mrs Bird. And who’d have thought Jim Broadbent and Eileen Atkins could be so ineffectual? Peter Capaldi also returns to repeat his weak, unfunny performance as the bossy neighbour Mr Curry. That’s four bad performances by good actors.

And this time the actors playing the Brown family who befriend Paddington seem to be sidelined, particularly the kids. The problem here is that the plot keeps Paddington Bear and his adoptive family apart for a large part of the movie, with him captured wrongly for stealing the MacGuffin pop-up book by cops, being sent to jail and escaping from jail, etc. However, the first film’s strength was all in his developing relationships with the members of the Brown family.

Happily though, even if they don’t have enough good stuff to do, both Hugh Bonneville and Sally Hawkins are stalwart as Mr and Mrs Brown. Both are bright and appealing, judging it just right. And happily too, Ben Whishaw is back as the cutely purring voice of the bear. His soulful vocal performance is the warm heart of the show.

So it’s a mixed bag, apparently. Director Paul King moves it along fairly zestfully and nimbly. But there are a few longueurs and dull patches, and the running time feels a bit over-long, though it’s surprising to find it is only 91 minutes. I guess I’ll just have to grin and bear it.

It is dedicated to ‘our friend Michael Bond’, the creator of Paddington Bear, who died on 27 June 2017, aged 91.

© Derek Winnert 2017 Movie Review

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