Directed By Dougal Wilson

Starring – Hugh Bonneville, Emily Mortimer, Ben Whishaw

The Plot – Paddington (Whishaw) returns to Peru to visit his beloved Aunt Lucy (Imelda Staunton), who now resides at the Home for Retired Bears. With the Brown Family in tow, a thrilling adventure ensues when a mystery plunges them into an unexpected journey through the Amazon rainforest and up to the mountain peaks of Peru

Rated PG for action, mild rude humor and some thematic elements.

PADDINGTON IN PERU – Official Trailer (HD)

POSITIVES

After two charmingly delightful and profoundly enlightening installments that each brought something uniquely endearing for every member of the moviegoing family, it was expected that a third film in the franchise might derail its consistency, but ‘Paddington in Peru’ is a re-affirming delve into comfort cinema that brings everything that you’ve come to expect from these movies, with even a few artistic liberties and one major setting shift that at least makes this the most ambitious installment to the series. For what’s expected, this is still a nourishing engagement that effortlessly subscribes to the importance of family dynamics and perhaps more importantly, British humor, without the need for compromising toilet humor to humble its heart. Because the gags are subtle and typically occurring in the backgrounds of every scene, they transpire without the need to distract or detract away from the focus of the ongoing narrative, attaining with them the necessary effectiveness in laughter to keep the engagement lightly fluffy for wandering minds, but also physicality in slapstick that never lacks believability in the depths of its execution, which prove to be the single most familiar link between these trio of films. Also returning are the talents and energy from its tremendously gifted ensemble, primarily the dazzling trio of Bonneville, Mortimer (Filling in for Sally Hawkins) and Whishaw, who emphatically lose themselves to the fun and exuberance of their respective characters. As the titular protagonist, Whishaw obviously has the most screen time and narrative progression, so his opportunities are limitless, but he capitalizes on them by imbedding a warming gentleness and calming cadence to the character’s intoxicating qualities that are truly sophisticating, and against the tides of Mortimer and Bonneville’s tender dynamic in attempting to keep their family link tight as their children get older, the tone is able to have it all in accommodating the heart and humor that essentially make it difficult to categorize this film into one distinct genre. This decorated trio are joined by welcoming arrivals of the silly and scroungy Antonio Banderas, who feverishly chews the scenery with the subtleties of an amplified buzzsaw, and the elegantly infectious Olivia Colman, whose first act wall-breaking manic musical number, appropriately titled ‘Paddington in Peru’, is the sought after singalong that I didn’t know I needed in the first place. It maximizes the global kind of impact that this initially British-emanating franchise once had, in turn supplanting big name appeal to a family franchise without the need to truly humiliate themselves, like most of these movies do anymore. The final carry over from its predecessors is life-like believability in the artificial C.G schemes for the movie, which attain with them a tangible heft and influence on the many set pieces, courtesy of Wilson’s thoroughly detailed direction. Most of this obviously pertains to the design of Paddington, which in both textured fur and bold expressionism seamlessly eviscerates the element of disbelief with ease, but even in the way the character is framed among his peers, outlines a naturalism to his color correction that keeps him from standing out in the most obvious of outlining, doing for artificial characters what big budget studios like Disney and Universal still struggle with. As for noteworthy enhancements, the film’s art direction this time around is quite impeccable, with a versatility of animated schemes and daring transitions that attain with them a transfixing tranquility to the cinematography that is downright radiant at times. Likewise, the unforeseen establishing finality given to an otherwise wandering third act, cements the proper kind of resolving and bittersweet goodbye to longtime fans of the family franchise, who can now rest assure that three good films among its offering make it one of the very best genre trilogies of all-time. While the intention of making this a one-off family excavation that many British sitcoms have done over the history of television, it soon becomes clear that the trip itself has more meaning than what was initially advertised, and in further subscribing to the linear link between all three films on the importance of finding a home of your own, the film uses this ideal against the audience in a somberly stirring climax that sneaks up on them with the kind of uncertainty that I wish could’ve been found in the rest of the film.

NEGATIVES

That feels like a good spot to highlight the film’s single biggest issue: its overwhelming predictability that makes it feel like we’ve seen this play out in one or all of the aforementioned one-off voyages that nearly every sitcom has taken, at one point or another. When I say predictability, I’m not just referring to characters coming out happy and healthy by the end of this thing, but also the internalized mysteries within this script that feel a bit too telegraphed to leave me skeptical even for a single solitary moment. One could definitely argue that this is intentional, with the over the top performances from Banderas and Colman leading the charge, but there’s obvious effort in the script to prolong the uncertainty of the exposition that we’re attaining, and as a result of everything feeling a bit too obvious for my experience with such forays, leaving me constantly feeling one step ahead of the movie, as I patiently waited for it to catch up, resulting in an underwhelming emphasis for the single biggest variance of story from this and the film’s predecessors. Likewise, the script feels forcefully condensed and held prisoner by not only a 93-minute run time that abridges so many of these conflicts, but also a variety of established arcs during the opening act of the movie, with some realizing a convenient resolution, despite little to no time spent evolving their proper development. This has never been an issue with the previous film, as each of the characters in the family feel fully realized with their own conflicts and explorations, but here the addition of a few too many new characters feels like it pushes the exposition into lackadaisical territory with its complete lack of effort, with one particular arc pertaining to the deterioration of the Browns going virtually ignored over the course of the trip, despite so much focus in it paid to the initial setup that got them to Peru in the first place. Despite my previous commending to Mortimer and Whishaw’s capabilities in the characters, the film never seems interested in pursuing them to feel like credible characters to its concept, and it has me thinking that the film could’ve just as easily been surrounding a solo trip for Paddington to discover the truth of his missing Auntie. Finally, while the film does attain merit in some fun action set pieces that indulge in the slapstick splendor of Paddington’s clumsiness as a fish out of water protagonist, they don’t quite capture the rushing exhilaration of the first film’s bathtub sequence, or the imagination of the second film’s pop-up book sequence, which is all the more disappointing with the jungles of Peru serving as the kind of primary setting that could all but spoof Indiana Jones in bear form. While it certainly feels easy to point the blame at Wilson, a music video director taking over the immense task of following in Paul King’s irreplaceable footsteps, there’s a void for creativity in capture that counteracts much of the momentum that these sequences are even casually attaining, failing to bank on the scope or spectacle of the occasion that practically writes itself on a stage as bold and diverse as Peru offers.

OVERALL
‘Paddington in Peru’ never quite evades the shadow of its two remarkable predecessors, but it is nevertheless a rip-roaring soap opera-esque one-off through the jungles of Peru that brings its best elements on board, during this root-uncovering excavation with all of the Marmalade to muster. Though elevated by charming performances, firm finality, and an unexpected element of experimentation with its blossoming art direction, the film’s predictably bland execution and condensed character exploration proves once more that there’s truly no place like home, especially alongside two predecessors that are unfairly perfect in contrast.

My Grade: 7/10 or B