Paddington 2 (Dir. Paul King, 1h 43m)

 
Paddington 2 is, in short, much like its charming, earnest ursine protagonist, an extremely likable thing. With the first film having already cemented itself as a worthy continuation of Michael Bond's bear-out-of-Peru stories and keeping enough of the spirit of both the original books, and the stop-start animated BBC series, albeit with an updated London of the 21st Century, the second film now updates and expands the world the bear inhabits together with the Brown family, as Paddington attempts to clear his name and return a prized popup book to its rightful place as a present for his beloved Aunt Lucy.

Paddington, as with the first film, remains both an enjoyably warm-heartedly and quintessentially British protagonist, both in his unashamedly kind nature, in his selflessness, and in his ability to see the best in people, including, once wrongly convicted for a crime he did not commit, the fellow prisoners he comes to make friends with. This is not to mention that Paddington himself is an utterly convincing effect-one has to remind oneself on occasion that Paddington is, in fact, not there at all and entirely computer generated. A lot of both the charm and the believablity of Paddington comes, undeniably, from Ben Whishaw-there is, much like Michael Hordern portrayal of the bear, an inherent warmth to Whishaw's voice, and he captures both the childlike wonder of a character still learning from the world around him, and the character's positive worldview and belief in others.

As with the first film, Paddington forms the emotional centre-we see a Windsor Gardens, once Paddington is behind bars, bereft of the bear, where the usually friendly community are bickering, unhappy, and making mistakes that Paddington would usually help them avoid-it's a simple, but effective scene. The Browns, meanwhile, are seen to be more rounded characters, with particularly the relationship between a mid-midlife crisis Mr Brown (Hugh Bonneville) and Mrs Brown (Sally Hawkins), who is fixed on her certainity that Paddington is innocent, expanded in this film. Certainly, whilst Peter Capaldi's busy-body Mr Curry, continues to run his one-man vendetta against the bear,the other residents of the street are seen to be bettered by their relationships with Paddington.

This continues once, when caught trying to apprehend the thief who makes off with a valuable book which Paddington was intending to gift to his Aunt Lucy, he is imprisoned. Despite King presenting a rogue's gallery of safecrackers, career criminals, and, in a scene that got one of the biggest laughs of the lot, a former MP, through Paddington's charm, and the panacea that is marmalade, he wins them over, and indeed changes the entire character of the prison for the better, incluiding the fearsome cook, Nuckles, played by Brendan Gleeson to perfection.

At the centre of the film, however, the film owes a great, if somewhat repaid debt to Ealing comedies, albeit with a lighter, more family-friendly touch. There's a mystery, a murder (albeit a PG-rated one), two beautifully executed chases, one between a bicycle and dog ridden by Paddington, and another between two trains, which also calls to mind Saturday morning serials. Certainly, there is the sense of the farcical at points, with Bonneville and Sally Hawkins breaking into the house of second-rate actor Phoenix  Buchanan (a screen-stealing performance in wickedness from Hugh Grant), only to be found hiding behind the curtains, whilst both chases are shot through with good-natured sightgags and slapstick mostly at Paddington's own (if minor) expense-this is a film where our hero is not only warmhearted but puts the best possible spin on most things.

This, in short, is the strength of Paddington-a charming, warm, funny slice of British cinema-it may not have the visual pop or slightly-too-knowing and lemon-sharp wit of an American family blockbuster, but through its gentle humour, and strong story-telling, it's every bit as enjoyable, if not more so. This, in a word, is a charming film. Long may we look after this bear.

Rating: Highly Recommended