Paddington 2 Review

"Paddington wouldn't hesitate if any of us needed help! He looks for the good in all of us."


Paddington 2 was directed by Paul King and is the sequel to Paddington that was released back in 2014. The film stars the likes of Ben Whishaw, Hugh Bonneville, Sally Hawkins, Hugh Grant, Julie Walters, Jim Broadbent, Peter Capaldi and Brendan Gleeson. The film follows Paddington who is now happily settled in with the Brown family who decides to buy the perfect present for his Aunt Lucy's 100th birthday, but this present gets stolen.... will Paddington be able to retrieve this perfect present?...well you will have to watch the film and find out.

Before we get into the review of Paddington 2 I just want to state that I absolutely loved the original film for its joyous charm and feel good factor. I am more than happy to announce that this is the same case for the sequel. Paddington 2 captures the feel good factor of the original film and joyous charm and manages to surpass the charm of the original film. With a current film industry so focused on delivering vast amounts of sequel, reboots of classic franchises and even a steady diet of superhero films (not necessarily a bad thing!), it is really nice to sit back and watch a film with a simple narrative, that is so well done, beautiful shot and just a charming piece of cinema that fills you with joy. I also have to give credit to the amazing cast of the film who all give fantastic performances but the stand out star aside from Paddington himself is Hugh Grant, whose performance is great and it feels and looks as if Hugh Grant is having the time of his life in this film, and without a doubt is definitely one of the standout stars of the film and without a doubt the best villain like character that we have seen in the franchise so far. Another great aspect of this film is the CGI. The CGI in the first film was spot on and Paddington looked great on the big screen, and once again the CGI in the sequel is stepped up again making Paddington look even more realistic and as cute as possible, and there also some great CGI scenes involving Paddington and Aunt Lucy exploring London in an old fashioned popup book style which looks great on the big screen, and really gives and artistic and interesting edge to the visual style of the film.

Whilst I normally go on to explain what I did not enjoy about the film, with Paddington 2 there really was not anything that I really did not like about it all. I mean there are some moments on occasion when the imagery just could have been a bit sharper in places mainly during CGI sequences, but that was not very often and that is more off a personal preference rather than a major issue with the overall film. Paddington 2 is truly a great family film, and one that if filled with heart warming scenes, great comedic sequences, great all round performances and a little bear that we have all come to love.

Overall I would highly recommend this film, and it is without a doubt one of the best family films that I have watched in recent years. Paddington 2 is a great follow up sequel to the original film and I can't wait to see where the franchise goes next.

Verdict: 5 out 5 stars