Paddington 2 is back in theaters, and it's still a delight [critique]

Between Wes Anderson and Steven Spielberg, the continuation of the adventures of Paddington is delicious.

At the end of 2014, the first Paddington accomplished a small cinematic miracle: adapting the adventures of a children's book hero bear (as well known in England as Winston Churchill) into a heroic and hilarious film. We're not going to let things drag on: Paddington 2 (2017), which returns to French cinemas a week after its predecessor, is largely on a par with the first film.

Paddington wants to find a gift for his Aunt Lucy, and finds a pop-up book exploring London but also coveted by Phoenix Buchanan, a returning actor with a mysterious goal. Hugh Grant had a blast in this role, and for him alone, this sequel is worth a watch!

Paddington returns to the cinema: an inventive and touching family film, not to be missed

From the opening (a flashback to Paddington's adoption, then a monumental dive into the beaches of the pop-up) to the conclusion (a thrilling chase between two trains), director Paul King skillfully mixes the grammars of Wes Anderson and Steven Spielberg. The sense of setting and poetically surreal discoveries of the first, and the amazed adventure of the second. The mix is ​​delicious, invigorating.

Without stifling the supporting cast (the film is also seen as a mechanism of perfectly regulated supporting roles), Hugh Grant here plays one of his best roles, as a penniless ham adept at transformism, who lives in a house decorated to his glory and talks in his attic to the great roles he has played. At the end, Paddington 2 is not far from the feelgood movie in the best sense of the word: a film whose goodness and innocence serve not only as the driving force behind the adventure but also as its raison d'être. God save Paddington!

While waiting to discover its new sequel (Paddington 3 will send the little hero and his family to Peru, early 2025), here is the trailer for No. 2, currently in theaters:

The real Paddington? “He has his generosity, his clumsiness, his clothes, sometimes, and his belly”