First Take: Paddington in Peru - the trilogy doesn’t quite stick the landing

SYNOPSIS: Paddington returns to Peru to visit his beloved Aunt Lucy, who now resides at the Home for Retired Bears. With the Brown family in tow, a thrilling adventure ensues when a mystery plunges them into an unexpected journey.

It’s a trilogy of films that have become very well regarded in the family film market, and one which StudioCanal are arguably building their UK brand around (quite rightly) - we all know how beloved Paddington 2 was when it released in 2017, you just have to ask Nicolas Cage and he’ll tell you the answer. But with their trusted bear handler Paul King now in the big leagues making films like Wonka, and long-time producer David Heyman going with him, the big question with Paddington in Peru was whether a new director could keep that style and reputation of the series in tact.

Enter Dougal Smith. A music video director by trade, with no experience in anything beyond 3 and a half minutes, this is the man trusted to helm this 1 hour 43 minute film and he does a relatively good job keeping to the style we’ve got so used to under Paul King - but boy does the film miss his midas touch across the board, even if the trademark slapstick and wit that’s defined the earlier entries remains present and correct. However, the script has issues, while the work of Mark Burton, Jon Foster and James Lamont (taking a story devised by 1 & 2 veterans King and Simon Farnaby) does what it needs to do, the big sticking point is the involvement of Sony when it comes to global distribution rights- there are elements which pander to the American market, and where it struggles is when you take a stereotypically London-based film out of London. Erik Wilson yet again nails it on the cinematography having now worked on all three films, and Dario Marianelli turns in a pretty decent score (which doesn’t feature the calypso band that popped up in 1 and 2) to keep things consistent even with the change in direction.

On to the cast, and in time honoured tradition, we’ve got a few Hollywood legends not taking themselves seriously for the purpose of comedic effect. In 1 it was Nicole Kidman, in 2 it was that legendary Hugh Grant role, and in 3, Antonio Banderas and Olivia Colman join the party with funny, if a little predictable characters - and in Colman’s case it is great to see her doing a family film and using years of work in TV comedy to her advantage. The new additions also include Carla Tous and a little cameo from Hayley Atwell- but importantly a lot of the OGs return too, with Hugh Bonneville, Samuel Joslin, Madeleine Harris and Julie Walters all coming back as expected within the live action realm, with Imelda Staunton coming in to voice Aunt Lucy- but the major change to the lead characters is the recasting of Sally Hawkins’ role to Emily Mortimer, and ultimately the whole thing struggled as a result. Whoever made that call is getting a hard stare. Importantly, the glue which just about holds it together is Ben Whishaw, who once again keeps the film on track as the voice of that marmalade-loving bear as only he knows how.

THE VERDICT

It’s not reaching the same heights as the first two (especially with Wicked and Gladiator II taking most cinema screens imminently), but as far as the first Paddington film under new creative stewardship goes, it’s about as smooth of a transition as it could’ve been - whether StudioCanal pursue the wider franchise that they have planned, without King’s involvement, could be the call which makes or breaks the series moving forward.

RATING: 3.5/5