A couple of days ago me and my friend managed to watch a movie that we had wanted to watch for quite some time. We managed to watch an animated live-action film called 'Paddington 2', a movie about a friendly, talking bear that lives with humans.
The reason that we wanted to watch the film as much as we did was that we had really liked the first 'Paddington' movie. We knew that the first movie was good, so there was a good chance that the sequel would be pretty good too.
So having now seen the second film, it has to be said that our expectations about the movie were more than met. Even though the first 'Paddington' was a good movie, I think it's fairly safe to say that the sequel is even better.
One of the best things about this second film is that there's almost nothing mean-spirited about the movie or any of its characters. Even though not all the things that happen in it are uplifting, 'Paddington' manages to have a positive tone throughout its length.
In the film, the story is basically about our main character Paddington going to jail after getting framed for a book robbery. He is sentenced to jail after being framed by the villain of the movie, an old school actor Phoenix Buchanan (Hugh Grant).
During his time in prison, our friendly and good natured bear tries to befriend his inmates. While our villain actor Buchanan is trying to locate a long lost treasure, Paddington does his best to get on the good side of the prisoners.
The biggest reason that the story of the film - that may be a bit hokey - works so well is that the movie doesn't take itself too seriously. Instead of being too serious or judgemental, the film manages to be lighthearted in a good way.
In practice, what this means is that in almost every scene, the movie manages to go against the expectations. It intentionally turns things around and surprises us, instead of going through the usual motions that most movies do.
For example, I just couldn't help but to love when Paddington wins over those prison inmates. I couldn't help but to love how his earnest and well intentioned behavior quickly disarms the inmates and the notorious Chef Knuckles (Brendan Gleeson).
In these scenes, the way 'Paddington' manages to get laughs from almost every moment is simply amazing. You can't help but to appreciate how those making the film were able to come up with so many good and funny ideas that work so well.
Still, the biggest surprise in the movie without a doubt has to do with Hugh Grant's character. The veteran actor as the scheming - yet utterly likable - villain Phoenix Buchanan is the single biggest reason that the film works so well.
After all, without his performance as the actor who's trying to find the hidden treasure, there's no way that the movie would be as charming as it is. Without his sense of humor and his willingness to 'ridicule' himself, the film wouldn't work that well.
In that sense, when you look at 'Paddington' as a whole, it's obvious that even though the story could have been a bit better and more organic in certain places, these minor flaws in storytelling don't really hurt the movie much.
After all, even though I had some minor issues with the film, 'Paddington' still manages to bring out all the good qualities that we expect from British movies. It manages to lift your spirits and makes you feel without being too calculating or too sentimental.
In the end, that is something that is extremely rare when it comes to movies that get released nowadays. It's super rare to see a movie that manages to entertain and makes you laugh without being judgemental or mean to anyone.
In that sense, when it comes to 'Paddington' as a film, I couldn't recommend it more. I couldn't recommend it more, because even though it's not a perfect movie, it's still the funniest film that I've seen in a really long time.
In the film, the story is basically about our main character Paddington going to jail after getting framed for a book robbery. He is sentenced to jail after being framed by the villain of the movie, an old school actor Phoenix Buchanan (Hugh Grant).
During his time in prison, our friendly and good natured bear tries to befriend his inmates. While our villain actor Buchanan is trying to locate a long lost treasure, Paddington does his best to get on the good side of the prisoners.
The biggest reason that the story of the film - that may be a bit hokey - works so well is that the movie doesn't take itself too seriously. Instead of being too serious or judgemental, the film manages to be lighthearted in a good way.
In practice, what this means is that in almost every scene, the movie manages to go against the expectations. It intentionally turns things around and surprises us, instead of going through the usual motions that most movies do.
For example, I just couldn't help but to love when Paddington wins over those prison inmates. I couldn't help but to love how his earnest and well intentioned behavior quickly disarms the inmates and the notorious Chef Knuckles (Brendan Gleeson).
In these scenes, the way 'Paddington' manages to get laughs from almost every moment is simply amazing. You can't help but to appreciate how those making the film were able to come up with so many good and funny ideas that work so well.
Still, the biggest surprise in the movie without a doubt has to do with Hugh Grant's character. The veteran actor as the scheming - yet utterly likable - villain Phoenix Buchanan is the single biggest reason that the film works so well.
After all, without his performance as the actor who's trying to find the hidden treasure, there's no way that the movie would be as charming as it is. Without his sense of humor and his willingness to 'ridicule' himself, the film wouldn't work that well.
In that sense, when you look at 'Paddington' as a whole, it's obvious that even though the story could have been a bit better and more organic in certain places, these minor flaws in storytelling don't really hurt the movie much.
After all, even though I had some minor issues with the film, 'Paddington' still manages to bring out all the good qualities that we expect from British movies. It manages to lift your spirits and makes you feel without being too calculating or too sentimental.
In the end, that is something that is extremely rare when it comes to movies that get released nowadays. It's super rare to see a movie that manages to entertain and makes you laugh without being judgemental or mean to anyone.
In that sense, when it comes to 'Paddington' as a film, I couldn't recommend it more. I couldn't recommend it more, because even though it's not a perfect movie, it's still the funniest film that I've seen in a really long time.
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