REVIEW: Paddington in Peru – A Disappointing Third Installment That Falls Short of Its Predecessors

When the first Paddington came out ten years ago – where did all that time go? – it is safe to say everyone was worried as to how it would turn out. Much to everyone’s relief, it was absolutely brilliant and everything you would’ve wanted out of a Paddington film. Inevitably, given it’s runaway success, three years later we got Paddington 2 which was somehow even lovelier and one of the sweetest and best family films ever made. This time around, director Dougal Wilson takes the reigns from Paul King, the co-writer and director of the first two and marks his first feature debut with this.

The reason for this was that Paul King was working on Wonka and therefore could not return to the franchise, a decision that, unfortunately, would prove detrimental as Paddington in Peru falls short of its predecessors. We reunite once again with Paddington, now proudly holding his British passport, and the Brown family who welcomed him into their home. Times are changing, and the children are growing up, becoming increasingly independent.

The Browns are also navigating changes: Judy (Madeleine Harris) is off to university, while Jonathan (Samuel Joslin) spends his days secluded in his room. Emily Mortimer steps into the role of Mary Brown, replacing Sally Hawkins—a casting change I find puzzling and somewhat disappointing. Mary wishes for the family to reconnect, while Hugh Bonneville returns as Henry Brown. Meanwhile, Paddington receives troubling news about his Aunt Lucy (Imelda Staunton), who rescued him as a cub and now resides in a retirement home for bears in Peru.

They pack their bags and set off to see her. Upon arrival, they encounter Antonio Banderas as Hunter Cabot, a deranged and villainous treasure hunter obsessed with finding the lost city of El Dorado—who, for reasons of his own, needs Paddington to achieve his goal. As mentioned, the absence of Paul King was always likely to pose a challenge. While this installment is disappointing, it’s not a bad film. It simply struggles to match the exceptionally high bar set by the previous two movies, particularly the second.

Photo credit: Studiocanal

Because of how blown away we have been previously, being perfectly fine is sadly not good enough when you know what came before was so wonderful. Whenever a series or franchise feels the need to go globe-trotting indicates a shortage of ideas. In my opinion, one of the rare examples of this working rather well was Pitch Perfect 2, my favourite of the three films. Not only does Paddington in Peru have a change of scenery and landscape, but also the (unnecessary) inclusion of more set-pieces and special effects.

This takes away the grounded and natural feeling of one and two and, whilst perfectly watchable, proved too disengaging for me. Back when Paddington was announced, I believe it was Colin Firth who had either signed on to do it (and then dropped out) or was rumoured to do it. Along then came Ben Wishaw who’s calm, soothing and innocent voice was absolutely perfect for the character. Now, you simply cannot imagine anyone else doing it and is everything you want.

Despite not everything around him working out as well as you’d hope, he is still great. Newcomer to the series is Olivia Coleman’s Reverend Mother who works at the retirement home as a suspicious nun who may or may not be up too no good. She is a delight to watch as always and is clearly having a good time. Emily Mortimer can’t bring to the table what Sally Hawkins was able to do but still gives it her all and still what you need for a film like this.

From what I can recall of it, the film does still have its moments of pulling at your heart strings but not as heavily as before. I phrase it like this as this was the second film in a row this week that had disruption from the audience so my concentration naturally dwindled slightly. I did make the mistake of leaving too early as I later found out there is an end credits scene that may or may not set up a fourth film. If they proceed, let’s hope they find a good enough story and not just for the sake of it as that really would be the worst case scenario.

3/5

In cinemas now.