Leaving the multiplex misty eyed and smiling, I could only think of how many kids Paddington 2 will teach to love cinema.įeaturing a Hugh Bonneville, Sally Hawkins and Hugh Grant giving his best comedic performance in years, this instalment sees Paddington finding the perfect birthday present for his Retirement Home for Bears bound Aunt Lucy, only to have it rudely stolen by washed up actor Phoenix Buchanan (Grant).
In a packed cinema, several soft cries of children could be heard, accompanied by the gentle soothing of parents and guardians, fully aware of the narrative tropes, assuring their children that everything was going to be alright.Ī swell of intense worry and relief was felt throughout the audience, the type of feeling usually reserved for the most well-crafted of action or thriller films, yet director Paul King achieves this with a CGI bear. There’s a moment of “mild peril” in Paddington 2 that sweeps the franchise firmly into its PG rating with a sense of earned sincerity and genuine danger that has become rare in the type of family friendly adventure fare we usually see on the big screen come Christmas time.Īs with the first absolutely charming entry into the franchise, British icon Paddington Bear finds himself in danger during the last minutes of the third act, and the effect is devastating.