New Paddington film charming but slow, critics say

The much-anticipated new Paddington in Peru film has had mixed reviews over its opening weekend, with critics calling it "charming-enough", but some agreeing the film struggles to reach the heights of its predecessors.

The third instalment in the Paddington live action adventure franchise sees the marmalade sandwich munching bear return to Peru to visit his aunt Lucy.

The film, that includes a return of much loved cast members including Ben Whishaw, Emily Mortimer and Hugh Bonneville, opened in UK cinemas on Friday 8 November.

Since the beginning of the film series in 2014, Paddington Bear has grown to become a national treasure with fans of all ages through its heart-warming appeal.

Of the latest film, Peter Bradshaw wrote in the Guardian that the experience was "just as jolly as the previous two films, but not really as funny" and likened it to a "special episode of a TV sitcom that takes the cast to the Costa del Sol".

In the Hollywood Reporter, Leslie Felperin wrote that while the film "lacks the absurdist wit and decidedly dark edge that elevated the first two Paddington movies", it was "serviceable enough given its limitations".

Nick Curtis was more cutting with his two star review in the Standard, saying Paddington in Peru "misses the easy charm, the fluency and the icy sliver of jeopardy" from the first two movies "which had genuine cross-generational appeal".

He added the pacing felt "ponderous and slow".

The Telegraph's Tim Robey was one of many critics to give Paddington in Peru a three-star rating, praising the addition of new characters portrayed by Hollywood heavyweights Olivia Colman and Antonio Banderas, calling them "assets" to the film, albeit not matching the previous "scene-stealing" from Hugh Grant.

Nick de Semlyen also agreed, writing in Empire: "Colman is perfect casting as sinister sister Reverend Mother, overseer of the Home For Retired Bears.

"Whether riffing on The Sound Of Music, strumming irritatingly on a guitar, or struggling to keep a phony smile plastered across her face, Colman is great fun, though a little underused. Antonio Banderas, meanwhile, goes full Kind Hearts And Coronets, playing not just a boat captain with a secret, but his many descendants."

Speaking in an interview with BBC Radio 1, Whishaw, who has voiced the character of Paddington in all three movies, said "I think they are beautiful films made with such care and love.

"A good film is a good film and they are hard to make, so I feel very proud of them and very proud to be associated in this way with this character."

The director of the first two Paddington films, Paul King, has since moved on to new projects including Wonka, starring Timothee Chalamet, but he is credited with writing this latest story alongside Simon Farnaby and Mark Burton.

Clarisse Loughrey gave the film three stars in the Independent, calling Paddington in Peru "the worst in the franchise" but praised the production design, which takes full advantage of moving the cast away from the cosy comforts of London, and making "every interior look like an untouched escape room with secrets hidden under every trinket".

Leila Latif of Total Film gave Paddington in Peru four stars, saying "despite the title, the film feels distinctly un-Peruvian".

She added: "There are no Peruvian characters (unless you count the bears) and while the film alludes to the previous horrors of plundering Spanish colonizers in a surprisingly brutal montage, it's still an uneasy shift that there is more screen presence from people of colour in London than there is in South America."

Away from the big screen, a new Paddington musical is being developed for the stage, with McFly's Tom Fletcher set to write the music and lyrics.

On November 7 the cast of the upcoming film unveiled special livery on a Great Western Railway (GWR) train that will travel through Devon and Cornwall.