Paddington in Peru 2025
The Paddington movies have been famously and perplexingly well-received by critics (Rotten Tomatoes scores of 96 and 99). I was very happy to see that the third one is now out, though it only gets a RT score of 93. Part of that is the fundamental problem of Rotten Tomatoes scoring which boils all reviews down to a binary positive or negative. Metacritic takes into account how much a reviewer likes (or dislikes a movie) with the results being 77, 88, and 65, 65 being a key cutoff for me. So I had some trepidation but went to see the movie anyway. This movie doesn't have some the really great subtle humor of the earlier movies, trading it in for a more common adventure movie plot in a lot of ways. It is still quite enjoyable, just not as clever. I heard the movie was about coming to terms with loss, but fortunately it is a happier movie than that description led me to believe. Paddington's adopted family, at least the kids, are barely used, but are a key part of the theme of empty nester parents. If you like the other movies, this should still work for you, but the plot is a little formulaic. Also, Sally Hawkins, who played the adoptive mother in the first two, has been replaced by Emily Mortimer, just so you know.
Written: 21 Feb 2025