Paddington In Peru review: By the end of this feel-good film, it’s hard not to feel all is okay with the world

Paddington In Peru

(PG) 106 minutes 

★★★★☆

AT the world premiere of Paddington in Peru, new director Dougal Wilson joked that only a fool would try to step into the shoes of his predecessor Paul King.

Paddington 2 has a 99 per cent rating on the Rotten Tomatoes review website and the first film is equally perfect in my opinion.

But with Ben Whishaw back as the voice of our accident prone bear and Olivia Colman playing a “suspicious” singing Reverend Mother this was never going to be a calamity.

This film sticks to the winning formula pratfalls, heart warming family values and first class actors hamming it up as villains.

As the title suggests, Paddington returns to his homeland in this story.

The Reverend Mother has told him that his Aunt Lucy is “acting strangely” and the ever dutiful bear goes to visit her.

The Brown family join him for a holiday, with Mrs Brown desperate to reconnect with her teenage children. 

But as soon as they arrive at the Retirement Home For Bears run by Colman’s nun it is clear that something is amis. 

I don’t think it’s a marmalade dropper to reveal that the Oscar winning actress’s character isn’t as saintly as she first appears. 

More obviously a wrong ‘un is Antonio Banderas’s Hunter Cabot, who is obsessed with finding El Dorado’s gold.

He’s haunted by an array of failed ancestors that allow Banderas to have a lot of fun.

But while there is a lot of debate about which of the first two movies is the best, the third one isn’t going to challenge for supremacy.

There’s too much Banderas and not enough Colman and as a result the film gets almost as lost as the Browns do in the jungle.

Neither is quite up to the standard of Hugh Grant in 2 and Nicole Kidman in the original.

The comedy set pieces are also not as imaginative as before, although first time movie director Wilson does bring some nice visual tricks to proceedings.

The only original key cast member missing is Sally Hawkins, with Emily Mortimer replacing her as Mrs Brown.

Mortimer does a good job, but few actresses do kooky quite as well as Hawkins.

Thankfully, a reliably rousing finale rescues Paddington in Peru.

By the end of this feel good film it’s hard not to feel all is okay with the world.

•  Paddington In Peru (PG) is in cinemas from Friday November 8.

RED ONE

(12A) 123mins

★★☆☆☆

FROM the prolific comedy director Jake Kasdan, this takes Christmas high jinks to strange new heights when Santa (JK Simmons) is kidnapped 24 hours before the big day.

It falls to Callum (Dwayne Johnson), the head of North Pole security, to reunite the big guy with his reindeers in time for Christmas Eve.

Joined by Jack (Chris Evans), a lifelong cynic who has never believed in Santa or in anything remotely sentimental, the pair embark on an eventful global quest to locate him before time runs out.

Along the way, the unlikely duo encounter a cast of eccentric characters, including Krampus (Kristofer Hivju), Mrs Claus (Bonnie Hunt), and the vengeful witch Gryla (Kiernan Shipka).

Though clearly aiming to be both silly and heartwarming, Red One stumbles somewhere between the edgy laughs of Bad Santa and the cosy warmth of a classic Christmas film.

The actors do a good job, but the storyline is a messy mishmash of old Germanic fairytales and modern action adventure, and the target audience feels unclear.

It’s an odd film that doesn’t seem to know what it wants for Christmas.

• By Linda Marric

PIECE BY PIECE

(PG) 93mins       

★★★★☆

THERE was a time where if you were a pop star and hadn’t been produced by Pharrell Williams’ gang of maestros, The Neptunes, then what the hell were you playing at?

Britney, Kelis, Snoop Dogg, Justin Timberlake, Missy Elliott and, Gwen “Hollaback girl” Stefani all supped from this super-producer’s cup.

Piece By Piece tells this story, among many others in Pharrell’s career, via the medium of Lego.

Pharrell has wanted to tell his tale – music-obsessed kid from the fairly pleasant Virginia Beach – since 2013 but was nervous about being seen on screen.

So director Morgan Neville conducted interviews with Pharrell’s family and friends and animated the results in Lego (including a very funny weed-infused Snoop Dogg anecdote).

What they’ve built is a fun and honest film that takes a deep dive into the N.E.R.D man’s life.

But while it is charming, the “Legomentary” aesthetic left me feeling short-changed. I’d like to actually see the contributors and have a glimpse of his home life.

There’s too much plastic in an otherwise great film.

• By Colin Robertson