A fun jungle romp and a fine movie, if not an A+ effort like the second movie. I suspect the moviemakers decided Paddington needed a change of scenery after two London-set capers, and returning to the jungles of Paddington's native Peru is an organic choice that I have zero problem with. I also have no problem with the screenplay lifting its plot directly from
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. My only quibble is that the action set pieces - especially the mountaintop chases through ancient stone ruins - felt a little Hollywood-generic. We've seen them before, and there wasn't enough to make them special to these characters. Olivia Colman is terrific as the Sister With A Secret, but I found Antonio Banderas's Riverboat Captain With A Secret a little too similar to Hugh Grant's Actor Who Struggles With Multiple Personalities Personified By Himself. Also, Disney's
Jungle Cruise movie with The Rock and Emily Blunt covered some of this Magical Rainforest territory already.
Going in, I told our son's friends' parents "Paddington 2 was our favorite movie of the millennium so far, so if 3 is half as good as 2, it'll be great", and I was right.
(Our private birthday party screening at the Triplex! Happy 10th Birthday, Buddo!)
