'Paddington 2' Overtakes 'Citizen Kane' as One Of Rotten Tomatoes's Top-Rated Films
Move over, “Rosebud,” it seems there's another “very important name” on everybody’s lips – none other than the marmalade sandwich-loving, raincoat-wearing, mild-mannered animal himself, Paddington Bear. After the excavation of a scathing, 80-year-old Chicago Tribune review lambasting Orson Welles's, Citizen Kane, the cinematic classic has lost its perfect score on Rotten Tomatoes, slipping from a perfect 100 percent to a mere 99.
"You've heard a lot about this picture and I see by the ads that some experts think it 'the greatest movie ever made,'" reads the nearly century-old review, entitled “Citizen Kane Fails to Impress Critic as Greatest Ever Filmed,” per the Hollywood Reporter. "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."
With the film's entertainment value apparently put into question, another actially universally adored film has slipped ahead of the iconic flick – 2017's Paddington 2, which has maintained a pristine 100% Certified Fresh score out of 244 reviews since its cinematic debut roughly four years ago. Despite numerically upsetting what is largely considered to be one of the world's all-time greatest works of film, Paddington 2's director, Paul King seems to be staying relatively level-headed about gloriously beating Welles at his own game.
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"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 of the shake-up. "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."
Even so, King noted that if Welles had been alive in our day in age and "had access to the kind of technology," perhaps the legendary director could maybe eke out a work "nearly as good" as Paddington 2. “But he had to make do,” King continued. "He had muster his meagre talent into merely knocking out Citizen Kane."
In light of the bear's upset, several cinematic fans took to Twitter to celebrate the bear's win, referencing the relatively extreme hype surrounding a now only 99% fresh Citizen Kane …
… imagining how the bear of the hour was celebrating his new digital supremacy …
… and even offering suggestions for how the 1941 hit could perhaps earn back its perfect score.
So Mr. Welles, if you're reading this from beyond the grave, remember – in your next life, try making a film about a kind Peruvian bear.
For more internet nonsense, follow Carly on Instagram @HuntressThompson_ on TikTok as @HuntressThompson_, and on Twitter @TennesAnyone.
