Film Review : Paddington 2 (2017)

Rating: 9.5/10

Genre: Fantasy/Adventure 

Related films: Paddington

By Leanne Harragan

Completely settled with the Browns, Paddington is loved by (almost) everyone. Whilst looking for a present for his Aunt Lucy’s 100^th birthday, he spots a Pop-Up London book. When the book is stolen, Paddington takes on the mission to find the culprit and get the book back in time for Aunt Lucy’s big celebration. 

Definitely one of the best films I’ve seen this year. You can’t beat an all British cast in a London backdrop. All the cameos and the cast were fantastic, it’d be impossible to give mention to all of them. Special credit to Ben Whishaw who has the most perfect voice for Paddington and to Brendan Gleeson who played charming criminal ‘nuckels’ who does ‘nothing for nobody for nothing.’ But honestly the whole cast was ace, with Hugh Grant stealing the show!

The plot was interesting, clever and funny. On a hunt for the thief of his chosen book Paddington charms people left, right and centre, from the local bin men, to prison wardens and prisoners alike. The script was clever and funny, there were plenty of moments when I laughed out loud. 

Being a sequel I was worried that it wouldn’t live up to the original, but it is just as charming and cheeky as the first one, if not it’s even more charming than the first, which is incredibly rare as a sequel. I would definitely recommend seeing this film because it’s impossible for you not to be enchanted by Paddington. 

Rating : 9/10

By Rebecca Mannick

As one of the better films of this year, ‘Paddington 2’ was jam-packed (or should I say marmalade-packed lol) with action, suspense and humour. If its not enough that Paddington might be the cutest fictional animal, then you will also not be let down with a masterclass of a script and delivery from the all star cast. The actual storyline itself was pretty complex (for a children’s film), it always had you guessing and intrigued on what was coming next. Every tiny detail kept interlinking throughout the film, which made for a clever watch. I felt like every scene and moment held its purpose, there was no ‘filler’ so to speak. 

I really enjoyed Hugh Grants performance as the ‘baddie’. I’m not hugely familiar with all of his work (obviously I’ve seen About a Boy and Notting Hill) but seem to have this opinion that he always plays the charming British romantic love interest. But in Paddington I liked the character that he played - it was very different and it gave the opportunity for him to show his class. I also love how London, Paddington is. It really shows the city in such positive light, not to mention that the Brown’s live on a well-to-do street in an affluent area. To be honest I just love when London is in any worldwide media release

For a sequel it was superb, maybe even better than the first movie. Theres nothing much that I can fault. I would 100% recommend this film, and its especially one for all the family.