Paddington: Aventura en la selva

Paddington in Peru is an ok movie that could have been so much more due to its international setting but it the weakest of the three movies in my books.

Slow buildup in the first act does significant damage to the well crafted narrative of the movie. Funny antics of our titular Bear does save the grace but what takes the cake is the performance of Antonio Banderas who seems to have a ball with his character.

The third act is the saving grace as the lovable family finally catches up in the majestic mountains of Machu Picchu and the Inca civilization.

However, I feel the audience were expecting more of silly adventure in the Peruvian Jungle and the Amazon than it turned out to be.

Paddington in Peru is comfortably the weakest of the trilogy with the absence of Paul King and Simon Farnaby definitely being felt but this is still a delightful third instalment that loses none of the heart and brings everything set up in the first act to a neat conclusion thanks to another satisfying third act. It's a consistently funny adventure which never forgets the immigrant story at the heart of this as Paddington struggles to balance his past and future.

Ben Whishaw remains endlessly precious with another pitch perfect vocal performance so Paddington continues to be a much needed cinematic balm. Hugh Bonneville is really funny as he tries to be more courageous and Emily Mortimer is a worthy replacement even if Sally Hawkins is missed. Antonio Banderas gets to do everything Dial of Destiny stopped him doing, having a ball whilst he does it and Olivia Colman as a suspicious singing nun is another big highlight.

Dougal Wilson's direction brings enough whimsy through carrying over ideas from the predecessors and some new inventive ones as well as a few well placed references to other films. There's a lot of slapstick here as usual and it always escalates in unexpected ways. The CGI is pushed like never before, making it all the more impressive that the effects that bring Paddington to life rarely falter despite the sheer amount of CG bears this time.

The first two 'Paddingtons' were superb 'family fun' films - but the third, "Paddington In Peru", without writer / director Paul King or London as its location, is not. The titular bear (voiced by Ben Whishaw) returns to his native Peru with adoptive family Hugh Bonneville, Emily Mortimer (replacing Sally Hawkins (shame)), Julie Walters, & kids - where they're pulled into a gold-hunting jungle adventure with the likes of Olivia Colman & Antonio Banderas. Old faves like Hugh Grant & Joel Fry cameo, and first-time director Dougal Wilson does fine, but nothing lifts the tame screenplay from Mark Burton, Jon Foster, & James Lamont. It's passable... but not a REAL 'Paddington'.

We went into this film thinking it wouldn't be as good as the other two Paddington movies, especially since the reviews weren't as strong. However, my son and I ended up really enjoying it. The story was warm and heartfelt, with Paddington's charm still shining through. The film had plenty of funny moments, but also some touching scenes that caught me off guard. By the end, I even shed a tear. While it wasn't quite as perfect as the first two films, it was still a lovely watch. I'm really glad we gave it a chance. It's definitely worth seeing for anyone who loves Paddington and his adventures.

All the key plot points and characters are there. But the script seems underdeveloped which meant the characters were more like finger puppets being paraded through each scene. Most of the time if felt like the cast were just waiting for their lines to be written.

The pace was also too slow which would have been helped by some good writing and perhaps editing.

The overall story is good and the last act certainly pulls at the heartstrings which leaves you feeling a certain degree of satisfaction.

I wished the script had more wit and charm to pump some life into the characters. The movie is like an uninflected doll. If it had air pumped into it, it would have come fully to life!