Paddington 2 is now the greatest movie of all time … at least according to a popular internet yardstick and maybe if you squint a little.
The much-loved 2017 sequel to Paddington has knocked Citizen Kane off its long-held perch at the top of Rotten Tomatoes Certified Fresh list, thanks to its 100 per cent rating and the emergence of a very old film review. And that, according to The Hollywood Reporter, is enough to earn it the title of the best movie ever.
While Paddington Bear fans will be nodding their heads in quiet approval, many film buffs' heads will be exploding at this point. The original Paddington movie was well reviewed and received, and in a rare feat (matched only by The Godfather Part II and a handful of other films), the sequel was considered even better.
But it's worth investigating the claim that it's the finest movie ever made.
How did we get here? What are you even talking about?
IMBD: Paddington 2
)OK, let's take a few steps back.
Rotten Tomatoes, in case you don't already know, is a widely referenced film review site which ranks movies according to it's Tomatometer — an aggregation of critics scores which produces a percentage. The higher the proportion of positive reviews, the higher the score.
Only a handful of movies have a 100 per cent 'Fresh' rating on the Tomatometer; some others are Battleship Potemkin (1925), Before Sunrise (1995) and Singin' in the Rain (1952).
Paddington 2 is one of those and so, until recently, was Citizen Kane, the 1941 Orson Welles masterpiece that has long been regarded as the pinnacle of cinematic achievement.
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So Citizen Kane isn't good anymore?
IMDB
)Well, it never was that flash, at least according to Mae Tinée — a critic writing under a pseudonym (read the name out loud) in Chicago Tribune in 1941.
Tinée's scanned critique was added to the Citizen Kane page on Rotten Tomatoes in March, as part of a project the site has been undertaking for the last two years to add archived reviews to its collection.
Over 5,500 reviews have been added of various films by what Rotten Tomatoes calls 'legacy critics'.
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And this particular legacy critic wasn't buying what Kane was selling.
"You've heard a lot about this picture and I see by the ads that some experts think it 'the greatest movie ever made,'" she wrote.
"I don't. It's interesting. It's different. In fact, it's bizarre enough to become a museum piece. But its sacrifice of simplicity to eccentricity robs it of distinction and general entertainment value."
She also thought the movie was too darn dark.
"It gives me the creeps and I kept wishing they'd let a little sunshine in," she lamented.
So, a negative review — albeit an anonymous, 80-year-old one. And guess what that meant? "Creepy" Kane drops to a 99 per cent Fresh rating, and Paddington takes the throne as the movie in the 100 club with the most positive reviews (244).
Relax, nobody is taking this seriously
It's worth noting that Rotten Tomatoes has its own official list of the greatest movies of all time, based on adjusted scores, with Black Panther currently at number one and Lady Bird in second.
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And Paddington 2 director and writer Paul King isn't exactly gloating or comparing himself to Welles.
"It's extremely lovely to be on any list which includes Citizen Kane, but it is obviously quite an eccentric list that goes from Citizen Kane to Paddington 2, so I'll try not to take it too seriously," King told The Hollywood Reporter.
How would Paddington himself feel about all this, King was asked?
"I imagine he'd just crack open the marmalade and have a second sandwich — you'd like to think he wouldn't get too carried away," he said.
"But maybe he would! I'm not sure he's known such an honour in his young life."
You decide
Like any art form, cinema is highly subjective. Everyone can have their own preferred movies based on their likes or dislikes. But if you're going to watch both movies and decide for yourself which comes out on top, here's the tale of the tape.
IMDB
)Citizen Kane (1941)
Director:
Orson Welles
Cast:
Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, Dorothy Comingore, Everett Sloane
Plot:
When a powerful but mysterious newspaper magnate Charles Foster Kane (based heavily on the real-life tycoons William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer) dies, a reporter is tasked with uncovering the meaning of his final word: "Rosebud". Interviewing the key people in Kane's life, the reporter learns of a man who, while amassing a fortune and then losing it all, never overcame the isolation and neediness of his boyhood. While the journalist fails to uncover the meaning of "Rosebud" the film's famous final scene reveals all to the audience in a single shot.
Paddington 2 (2017)
Director:
Paul King
Cast:
Hugh Bonneville, Sally Hawkins, Brendan Gleeson, Julie Walters, Jim Broadbent, Peter Capaldi, Hugh Grant, Ben Whishaw
Plot:
Paddington has settled in with the Brown family and really made a home for himself in London. He wants to buy his aunt Lucy a present for her 100th birthday and he wants it to be super special. He goes to his friend's antique shop and eventually finds this one-of-kind pop-up book of London. It's the perfect present because Aunt Lucy always wanted to go to London but was too old (she's living at a home for retired bears in Peru). But it's very expensive. So Paddington decides to get a job to pay for the book. He bumps into this washed-up actor, Phoenix Buchanan (Hugh Grant), and mentions the book — which belonged to the owner of circus — and Buchanan wants the book because it has the secret code that will lead him to the circus family's lost fortune. So he steals the book from the antique shop and frames Paddington. Paddington saw the break-in but Buchanan was in disguise. Paddington goes to jail and eventually makes friends in there thanks to his marmalade recipe and really starts to thrive. Meanwhile, Phoenix Buchanan is going to various London landmarks in the book to look for clues to lead him to the treasure. And all the while, the Browns are trying to clear Paddington's name. Back in prison, Paddington loses hope that the Browns still love him but then there's a breakout, which sees Paddington busted out of jail. Eventually the truth is revealed, justice is served and Phoenix Buchanan gets to put on a spectacular show. (Synopsis by Dannielle Maguire)
The Link LonkMay 02, 2021 at 06:13PM
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-05-02/paddington-2-citizen-kane-as-best-film-of-all-time/100109944
Paddington 2 dethrones Citizen Kane as best film of all time (according to Rotten Tomatoes) - ABC News
https://news.google.com/search?q=rotten&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en
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