“Paddington”
I was surprised when I heard that a full-length movie adaptation of “Paddington Bear” was announced last year. I mean, how much plot can you get from a talking bear in London?
Paddington is exactly that. He is a talking bear from darkest Peru who is obsessed with marmalade and is in need of a new home in London.
This is a completely ridiculous premise. And that’s why the ridiculous plot does actually make a lot of sense.
A CGI bear talks to a german-accented Jim Broadbent. This is what the people have been waiting for!
When people interact with the bear, they skip out the generic first stage of lacking acceptance of Bears talking and just treat it as “another new thing you learn everyday”. This is a genius joke.
This, like almost every family film, does suffer from a couple of scenes of forced “this-is-the-way-it-should-be-ness”, when the main cast of characters have their happily ever after and they spell out in whimsy how great it is. This is fine for some, but a lot of the time these endings don’t rub well with me.
Yet I am kept happy by Nicole Kidman play the funniest villain I have seen in a long time and a surprisingly, sometimes darkly good sense of humour.
The direction in this movie is also a surprise. Actual effort was put into every single shot to play up either laughs or heart.
In this age of every marketable children’s franchise being hopelessly exploited by the fat-cats (see “Garfield” for more information), Paddington Bear has actually been treated with some respect. Though I never watched or read the original myself, I feel that those who did will not feel completely ripped off.
Recommended Scenario: When you want to be surprised while entertaining your kids.
If what I have written tells you that you would like this film, you can book tickets to see it at your local Cineworld here. 
Craig's Movie Reviews 
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