Review of Nanny McPhee Returns

I imagined that it would be hard for Emma Thompson to retain the standards set by the first Nanny McPhee film when I heard that she was making a sequel. Baring in mind that I was hardly the imagined demographic for the first outing (I'm 24 years old and not by nature a sentimental person) I could not believe that a sequel could ever recapture the magic and sheer exuberance of the first. But it did and then some! After the first ten minutes of the film, I was so engaged in Emma's story telling and the characters that any fear vanished. Featuring some truly funny moments delivered by some very good young actors and once again brilliantly performed by Emma Thompson, the second Nanny McPhee film is for me, as much in league with modern children's classics as the much hyped Harry Potter. I found the storyline joyful and uplifting without being saccharine sweet and the film boasts some wonderful cameos. Katy Brand steals the show as the rough voiced yet somehow glamorous hit woman hot on the heels of Rhys Ifan's delightfully over the top villain. If I had to make any fault at all with this film it is at Maggie Gyllenhaal's unexpected casting and sometimes overly enthusiastic gushing, although generally Gyllenhaal is a decent actress she remains quite unlikeable for the first half of this film as the over-worked yet underwhelming mother character. A stunning turn from Dame Maggie Smith as she proves she still has the power to take even the smallest of roles and turn it into a wonderfully amusing, well performed piece.