Paddington 2 (2018) Review

“Did I leave the oven on?”

THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.

Paddington was a great family flick. So what is the answer to top the standard? A sequel that becomes ten times of an all time classic.


PLOT


Paddington 2 shows the titular talking bear continue to live the Browns in Windsor Gardens. Most of the family has changed lately as Henry feels like he’s in a midlife crisis, Mary has a swimming hobby, Judy has gained a new hobby of being a reporter and Jonathan is trying to fit in with other teenagers by not sharing his interest in steam trains. With his Aunt Lucy (Imelda Staunton) turning 100 years old, he wants to give her a pop up book as a birthday gift, one that belonged to the first Madame Kozlova, whose great granddaughter runs the local steam fair. He finds the sole copy left at the antique shop of Samuel Gruber (Jim Broadbent), but has to save up some wages by performing odd jobs such as window cleaning. It takes a long process since some jobs don’t go so well such as accidentally shaving a customer at a barbershop. After attending a local carnival, he witnesses a burglary, someone stealing the pop up book for himself and frames him for it. Little does he know the culprit was washed up actor Phoenix Buchanan who knows the book has clues of a hidden treasure he hopes to take for himself. With no evidence to prove it was Buchanan, the bear cub is sentenced to 10 years in prison for grand theft. He is sent to one with humans rather than with other animals. He predictably doesn’t make a good first impression when messing up the laundry, via mixing a red sock with the black/white striped clothing that all inmates must wear. And rather than make enemies though, he ends up befriending many of them. Particularly, he bonds with the chef Knuckles McGinty the most over marmalade sandwiches that they cook together. The relationship of cooking together would be so beneficial that other inmates would offer other recipes to spice up the prison menus. On the outside, the Browns investigate to prove the bear’s innocence. They meet the great granddaughter who explains how the pop up book is a map to the treasure. Suspicious about Buchanan (who is actually the grandson of the magician who killed her intending to find said treasure) who is in deep debt, Henry and Mary search his home and find the costumes he’s been using to cover his tracks. They end up sharing this piece of evidence, but the police choose to decline it. At prison, Paddington is also offered by Knuckles to join him in an escape, in exchange of helping him prove his innocence. He goes along out of worry the Browns will forget about him, but by the time he goes through with it, Knuckles admits he was intending to flee the country, resulting in the bear to go separate ways with him and the other inmates who escaped as well, Phibs & Spoon (Noah Taylor & Aaron Neil). He ends up reaching a telephone to contact the Browns, who would then inform Buchanan is the real thief and is reaching Paddington station where the carnival train is departing with the hidden treasure. As the Browns head to the station, nosy neighbor Mr. Curry (Peter Capaldi) rejects their decision to aid the bear, only resulting in Henry to call him out for never liking him to begin with. The Browns board a steam train that Jonathan activates on his own to follow the carnival train. When catching up, Henry is able to hop across with the company of Mrs. Bird and Judy. In the process, Paddington takes the book but unintentionally closes away the treasure. Needing the code to open it, Buchanan chases him for it and ultimately handcuffs the Browns to a pole. They do break free, but not in time to stop him from trapping them bear in a brake van that he severs. Henry incapacitates him with a baseball, but the van crashes into a river. Luckily, Mary jumps in to save Paddington, with the company of the escaped convicts. Days later, Buchanan would be arrested and the pop up book would be taken in as evidence for his crimes, which exonerated the cub. The film ends happily when the Browns, with help of the other neighbors, reunite Paddington with Aunt Lucy to visit London from Peru.


THOUGHTS


It is always hard to top the quality of what was done before, which is why it is a big surprise that Paul King was able to pull off in creating the feat where everything about it is topped. The comedy alone with the talking bear is already a case of golden moments because it's hard to not laugh at Paddington use his body to wash windows or cause a laundry botch in prison. The visual effects on him look enhanced, but it was dazzling to see his dream of showing Aunt Lucy all of London to her via London. The reason people like myself love it so much more than the first rodeo is because the heart is much stronger. It is able to show a gigantic ripple effect in kindness going a long way. Ben Whishaw is able to express how the bear defines that with his voice alone. Everyone in the neighborhood, minus Mr. Curry, is so blessed to have him around because he is all about living to the fullest despite things not going as he tries to plan it. He owes the world to Aunt Lucy as he tries to get her a great gift because she could've came to London much sooner with Pastuzo (Michael Gambon) had they not adopted him. So the fact the neighborhood came through in returning the favor was the best way to close the narrative but we don't get there without the family that took him in and came around in accepting him as one of their own. One by one, the Browns are on the same page but still have creative approaches in helping the bear out. I related to Jonathan a lot in his given time because Samuel Joslin shows him to be the shy one who is afraid of fitting in. But with what was going on for the bear who remained true to himself after being wrongfully accused, he remembered to not forget his inner self that's made him happy and he proved so when driving the steam train in the climax. Madeleine Harris showed consistent confidence for Judy because after her first breakup with Toby, she found an appropriate distraction with being a reporter sharing what has to be said was a great way to express any situation, including Paddington's dilemma. Since the bear was always the one who encouraged her to do what she wanted, this was her way to return the favor. She really matched the determination that Sally Hawkins brought to the table as Mary because she was all about ambition. She knew it was a challenge to prove the bear's innocence without proper help of authority, but it was like a must to accomplish because she knew no one else would care as much as her. And she proved her motherly love when jumping into the water to save him. Hugh Bonneville is able to make Henry much more likable compared to before because while he tries to be optimistic, he still chooses to think realistically because it is still a challenge to accept the unusual, like an actor framing a bear. He still comes through in helping out because the bear reminded him to not give up, which is why he embraced much more maturity when confronting Buchanan and calling out Mr. Curry. Julia Walters is still a real one as Mrs. Bird because not even she hesitates in helping Paddington however she can. She was willing to shoot Buchanan in the head, which is over the top but bold because she loves the bear that much. While we know the cub has affected the Browns' lives in the best way possible, it shouldn't be a surprise that he was able to spark happiness in what some would call a darks soul. Brendan Gleeson feels phenomenal as Knuckles because he was more grizzled than an actual bear due to being short fused for anyone who spoke against him. That all changed when he met Paddington because not only did the cub express his own toughness with a hard stare, sharing the marmalade recipe reminded him there is more to life than being bitter. Yes Knuckles had his own mindset where he was too tough to let his guard down, but the bear was the first to encourage him it's okay to let his guard down. Realizing this is what led to him returning the favor as well by saving him from drowning, knowing it'd risk him going back to prison. Despite that he was brute force, the real villain was Phoenix Buchanan. Hugh Grant was a natural in making an antagonist have the suave charm that would make people not suspect him to be full of greed until the proof is out. Like his grandpa, he has the worst case of entitlement and some wouldn't blame him since dog food commercials can be embarrassing for icons past their prime. He messes up big time by taking the obsession so far that he was willing to kill a bear over treasure. Had he written the code in advance, he would've gotten what he wanted. What made me laugh so hard by the end of it is that even he made prison fun when it is supposed to be a punishment. There will never be a time where I’ll dislike this movie, but there were still a few things that confused me upon re-watching. For example, there ain’t no way anyone, let alone a bear, will shiver from the vibrations from an electric shaver so strong that you’ll move around a whole room. And what are the damn odds Buchanan deduces where the pop up book is thanks to Paddington? If he moved in the area for the sake of finding it, it’s a surprise he never checked the antique shop before. Continuity errors are still a problem because there is an instance where Buchanan does and doesn’t have the book on him during his first clue discovery. And how is the PA system two way in the prison? That’s crossing the line when it comes to privacy no matter how nice the warden was with the bedtime story. Also, isn’t it a little crazy Paddington needed candied apples to stick on the train, but the briefcase didn’t need anything. That train was moving very fast, so it’s a miracle he didn’t lose it. Other than that, this is a real good time to get through. In conclusion, Paddington 2 is one of the best movies ever made for ante-ing up all the joy that worked before and the some which would’ve made Michael Bond proud. If you prefer these kind of movies, see this now.