James Gunn Calls This One of the Greatest Films Ever — “People Think I’m Being Ironic When I Say That”

James Gunn has made some big movies, like Guardians of the Galaxy and The Suicide Squad. But in a recent interview with French outlet Konbini, he didn’t talk about superheroes. Instead, he talked about a small bear in a blue coat.

During the interview, Gunn stopped at a display for Paddington in Peru and admitted he hadn’t seen it yet. But he didn’t hold back when talking about the previous film in the series. “Paddington 2 is a classic film,” he said. “It’s one of the greatest movies ever made. People think I’m being ironic when I say that, but I’m telling the truth.”

That’s a strong take, but he’s far from the only one who feels that way.

Paddington 2, which came out in 2017, is a live-action and animated comedy directed by Paul King. He also co-wrote it with Simon Farnaby. The film is based on the beloved Paddington Bear books by Michael Bond. The movie was actually dedicated to Bond, who passed away that same year.

The story follows Paddington as he’s wrongly accused of stealing a rare book and ends up in prison. Meanwhile, his family works hard to find the real criminal and clear his name. Ben Whishaw returned to voice Paddington, and the cast includes Hugh Bonneville, Sally Hawkins, Brendan Gleeson, Julie Walters, Peter Capaldi, Jim Broadbent, and Hugh Grant as the villain.

The movie became a huge hit with critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, it holds a 99% approval rating based on over 250 reviews. For a while, it was the most-reviewed movie ever to stay at 100%, even beating Toy Story 2. It only dropped to 99% in 2021 because of one negative review, which actually made some people joke that it was now “better” than Citizen Kane, after that classic also lost its perfect score.

It didn’t just do well on Rotten Tomatoes. On Metacritic, it has a score of 88 out of 100, showing strong praise from critics. In France, AlloCiné gave it 4 out of 5 stars, and audiences polled by CinemaScore gave it an “A” grade, just like they did for the first Paddington movie.

Reviews were full of love for the movie’s heart and humor. Leslie Felperin from The Hollywood Reporter said, “Paddington 2 won’t save the world, sadly, but its existence makes everything just that tiny bit better and more, well, bearable.” Guy Lodge from Variety called it “another near pawfect family entertainment,” and pointed out how well it brought the character into modern-day London. Peter Bradshaw from The Guardian praised how it spoke to both kids and adults without trying too hard. In fact, The Guardian later named it one of the best films of the 21st century.

So when James Gunn says it’s one of the greatest movies ever, he’s not just being funny. He’s saying what a lot of people already believe.

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