Paddington in Peru marks the return of everyone’s favourite talking bear, who embarks on an adventure to save Aunt Lucy after she goes missing before his arrives to visit her in the South American country.
Paddington (Ben Whishaw) and the Brown family get on the case to try when they find a clue as to her whereabouts on the prompting of the rather helpful, if suspicious, Reverend Mother (Olivia Colman). The group must try and find El Dorado, the lost city of gold, and to do so they hire the services of riverboat adventurer Hunter Cabot (Antonio Banderas) and his daughter Gina (Carla Tous) — but it doesn’t take long for things to go wrong.
The film did not go down as well with critics as one might hope, though many remarked on how delightful the franchise remained after Paul King stepped back as director to make Wonka. While the film continued to cement Paddington’s legacy as a cinema icon, it was noted how the third movie wasn’t as good as its predecessor.
BBC‘s Nicholas Barber remarked that it was obvious that new director Douglas Wilson and Emily Mortimer, who has taken over the role of Mrs Brown from Sally Hawkins, were “hired to imitate someone else, rather than to provide any distinctive qualities of their own.”
The critic wrote: “And in general there’s a sense that Paddington in Peru is a substitute: it’s trying its hardest to replicate the blissful magic that Paddington 2 seemed to conjure up so effortlessly.”
Barber remarked that Colman is a particular highlight of the film because her “role fits her so perfectly”, but that doesn’t mean it worked as well as its predecessor: “Maybe Paddington 2 has spoiled us. In contrast, Paddington in Peru offers a fun and lively hour-and-three-quarters in the cinema, and that’s not to be sniffed at, but it comes across as the solid third part of an established franchise rather than a stellar pop-cultural phenomenon in its own right.”
The Guardian‘s Peter Bradshaw similarly felt that the third film is “just as jolly as the previous two films, but not really as funny” and described it as “a sweet-natured and primary-colour family adventure which takes Paddington Bear back to his South American homeland”.
The critic added: “Colman and Banderas are formidable character turns and offer sterling support – but even combined, they don’t match the comedy payload delivered by Hugh Grant’s conceited thesp Phoenix Buchanan in the now legendary Paddington 2.”
Deadline‘s Stephanie Bunbury was more taken with the film, saying director Wilson “may not have King’s Midas touch with physical comedy, but has otherwise kept the ship steady.”
The critic also took the time to praise Mortimer for her portrayal of Mrs Brown, writing: “Mortimer is grounded and mumsy where Hawkins was flighty and impetuous, but she slots in so nicely – or perhaps the slot itself is so well crafted – that she seems to have always been there.”
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For The Independent‘s Clarisse Loughrey the film is the “worst of the franchise”, though she gave it a middling 3 stars, writing: “it’d be delusional to think that Paddington had anywhere to go but down” after the release of Paddington 2.
“Really, all you can do is take what joy you can from Paddington in Peru, because its pleasures are rarer but still sweet,” the critic added, saying of Colman and Banderas: “It’s entirely impossible to resist Olivia Colman gallivanting around in a habit while doing her best impression of Maria in The Sound of the Music, or Antonio Banderas smouldering for the camera before performing a series of impressive pratfalls. The joy isn’t gone from Paddington in Peru. You might just want to adjust expectations.”
Evening Standard‘s Nick Curtis was much harsher in his observation about the film, saying it was more like “Paddington Bore” than Paddington Bear.
Curtis wasn’t as taken with Banderas or Colman in the film, writing that “Paddington is chased around the Amazon rainforest, without much conviction or effort, by Banderas” and that Colman “acts on autopilot” in the film by “amping up her eyes and teeth for one beatifically demented, wimple-framed grin after another.”
Paddington in Peru arrives in cinemas on Friday, 8 November.
