Paddington 2's reign as king of Rotten Tomatoes has come to an abrupt end – everyone's favorite bear is no longer the top-rated movie on the review aggregator site.
Back in April, the sequel ousted Citizen Kane from the top spot after a newly uncovered 80-year-old negative review of the 1941 movie pushed its score down from 100 per cent down to 99. Now, however, there isn't a single movie that holds the 100 per cent "Certified Fresh" score.
The negative review of Paddington 2 comes from Film Authority writer Eddie Harrison, who said: "I reviewed Paddington 2 negatively for BBC radio on release in 2017, and on multiple occasions after that, and I stand by every word of my criticism.
"This is not my Paddington Bear, but a sinister, malevolent imposter who should be shot into space, or nuked from space at the first opportunity. Over-confident, snide and sullen, this manky-looking bear bears little relation to the classic character, and viewers should be warned; this ain’t yo mamma’s Paddington bear, and it won’t be yours either." Ouch.
The second Paddington installment was released in 2017 as a follow-up to 2014's Paddington. Directed and co-written by Paul King, Ben Whishaw voices the titular friendly, marmalade-loving bear, while Hugh Grant plays the movie's villain. It was recently announced that a third movie was in the works.
"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 after the news broke of Paddington 2's short-lived perfect score. "I won't let it go too much to my head and immediately build my Xanadu. But I have been cooking up a model just in case."
When asked how Paddington himself might react, King added: "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."
If you've already seen the not-quite greatest movie ever made, fill out your watch list with our picks of the best movies of 2020 instead.
