Peter Rabbit sequel is better than the original, but still deeply annoying
Peter Rabbit 2
Cast:james Corden, Rose Byrne, Domhnall Gleeson Director: Will Gluck Duration: 1 h 33 m Available: In cinemas and on demand
Back at the turn of the century, I reviewed Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life. Having recently watched the original (and despite that atrocious punctuation), I was won over by the sequel’s better-thanthe-first-one vibe, and gave it (forgive me) three and a half stars out of four. I will not be making that mistake with Peter Rabbit 2.
It is, to be fair, an improvement on the 2018 based-on-beatrix-potterbut-not-really tale, despite reuniting most of the same cast and crew, including director and co-writer Will Gluck; James Corden as Peter; and Rose Byrne and Domhnall Gleeson as their human keepers. Also, David Oyelowo joins the cast as an obnoxious publisher.
But it also features much that is deeply annoying, and much of that from the same group of people (and rabbits). And no, pointing out its annoying bits in a fourthwall-breaking way does not make them less annoying. If anything, it removes the possibility that the filmmakers might have done them by accident.
But here’s the thing. Between the drab opening (a wedding, ho-hum) and the happily-ever-after-unlesswe-make-another finale, there are some inspired moments of human and animal shenanigans.
One extended sequence features an Ocean’s 11 takedown of a farmers market, led by Peter and a ne’er-dowell street rabbit (Lennie James). They’re after dried fruit, which they describe as nutritious, easy to transport and impossible to trace — truly the bitcoin of produce. Another is a daring rescue of Peter’s various friends.
And sure, getting from one of these scenes to the other requires a wrong-headed notion of the way pet stores operate, both from the supply and demand sides. And yes, this accounts for only about 20 minutes of a 93-minute movie. I’ll let it slide. But I’m not handing out any extra stars for it. ★★