Escobar: Paradise Lost (2014)

Yawn. Poorly Filmed Snooze Fest.

Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Great psycho-thriller, draws you right in. Loved the understated style, movie manages to suggest what's going on without resorting to grisly torture scenes and other clichés. Most violence is shown after the fact, not too graphic. (Of course not suitable for children.) Great performances, beautifully filmed. If you love Apocalypse Now / Last King of Scotland type films where a mysterious megalomaniac is glimpsed or gradually revealed through the eyes of an outsider, you will probably especially like it (in this case it is just glimpses of Escobar, on one hand the family man, adored by his supporters, and on the other a completely detached and ruthless psychopath.) Of course Benicio del Toro is incredible in the role of Escobar and all the cast are excellent. Unfortunately it seems the title gave some viewers/critics the expectation that the movie should be a biopic of Escobar, and the fact del Toro was so good in the role just left people wanting more. But it is a really good movie nonetheless.

Review: Why haven't they made a Pablo Escobar biopic? This movie only touches on a period of his life and I must admit, I did Google his life story afterwards because his life story is definitely intriguing. I don't think that anyone else could have played Escobar, except for Al Pacino in his Scarface days. Anyway, this film follows a young Canadian surfer, Nick (Josh Hutcherson) who moves to Colombia to be with his brother. Whilst living in the woods, he meets up with Pablo Escobar's niece, Maria (Claudia Traisac) and they fall in love with the blessings from her family. After getting engaged, he builds a relationship with Pablo but his brother is worried because of the dangerous world that surrounds him. Nick soon realises that he has entered a world of drugs, violence and corruption so he tries to leave with his brother to go back to Canada with Maria but Escobar has other plans for him. With the pressure of the politicians and the American government on his back, Pablo starts to clean house before handing himself into the authorities. He gives Nick a job to hide some of his assets with the help of a young villager but Pablo has become very paranoid and he doesn't want any loose ends. Nick ends up fighting for his life against Escobar's henchmen, which also puts his family and friends in danger. Personally, I wouldn't have chosen Josh Hutcherson for this role because of his innocent face and a lack of depth behind the eyes. Benicio Del Toro has plenty of depth behind his eyes and for a lot of the scenes, he only had to look at people to get his point across. Escobar is definitely a Robin Hood type of character who created a empire which is beyond my imagination. There's many stories about the notorious Medellin cocaine cartel but I think that film makers are to scared to bring it to the big screen, which is understandable. Anyway, it's definitely a film worth watching, if your interested in the Escobar empire but don't expect an in depth biopic. Interesting!Round-Up: Puerto Rico born Benecio Del Toro, 48, hit the big time as the weird speaking Fenster in the Usual Suspects in 1995 but he had starred in quite a few movies before that, like James Bond: Licence to Kill, the Indian Runner, Fearless with Jeff Bridges, China Moon and the under-rated Swimming With Sharks. He then went on to star in the Fan, the Funeral with Christopher Walken, Excess Baggage, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, which was a brilliant performance alongside Johnny Depp, Snatch and the Way of the Gun. He then won a Oscar for his supporting role in Traffic and he brought out 2 films in a 3 year period called the Pledge with Jack Nicholson and Hunted with Tommy Lee Jones. After that he got another supporting role Oscar nomination for 21 Grams and after another 2 year break, he starred in Sin City in 2005. He didn't return to the big screen until 2007, alongside Halle Berry in Things We Lost in the Fire and in 2008 he played Che in the 2 movie epic. After the disappointing Wolfman and Savages he starred in Thor 2 and the brilliant Guardians of the Galaxy so he's definitely one that picks his movies with a lot of thought. Personally, I think he is a unique actor who made this movie watchable and I can't wait to see him in Guardians of the Galaxy 2. This is the first movie directed by Andrea Di Stefano who has starred in movies like Life of Pi, Nine with Daniel Day Lewis and Eat, Pray Love. For his first project, I honestly think that he put together a decent movie which has definitely touched on a interesting subject and the whole story with Nick was intense and dramatic but not as intriguing as the Pablo character. I did feel thoroughly entertained after watching the film but the ending was a bit weak because you don't know what happened with any of the characters. Budget: N/A Worldwide Gross: £3.75millionI recommend this movie to people who are into their crime/drama/romance movies about a young Canadian surfer who falls for Pablo Escobar's niece and enters a world which puts his life in danger. 6/10

Paradise lost can be described as a romance, thriller as it depicts a cultivating love story between an innocent, seemingly dumb Canadian boy and a compassionate Columbian girl, while portraying a very well played Pablo Escobar, who is intense, powerful and does anything to protect his family. Watching paradise lost, it seems as though two separate movies were compiled together into one. The first half unravels the love between Nick and Maria, which drags on and never really escalates or blossoms into something meaningful as the movie ends on a whim, leaving the audience to believe that there may be a sequel. The second half of the movie is adventurous and captivating, showing a dangerous hide and seek game between Nick and Pablo Escobar's guards, as they try to hunt Nick, after he successfully figured out their plot to kill him. If the director decided to dedicate the entire movie to either of these story lines, the movie would have been much more enjoyable. Even though, the movie is created around the story of Nick and Maria, Benicio Del Toro's impressively played Pablo Escobar steals the spotlight from the lead role of the movie and his supporting act unknowingly becomes the center of attention, as the menacing and dark Pablo Escobar is hard to overlook. Andrea DI Stefano, the director of the film is able to bring alive the Columbian culture with vibrant, colorful costumes while expertly depicting Pablo Escobar's famed Hacienda Naples, that is filled with expensive art and exotic animals. Overall, Escobar: Paradise lost is an intertwining movie presenting a blossoming love between two culturally divided young individuals, and a wealthy and commanding uncle who will stop at nothing to ensure that his family is not betrayed by any outside influences.

As "Escobar: Paradise Lost" (2014 release from France and Spain; 120 min.) opens, we are told it is "Medellin, Colombia, June, 1991". We see Escobar making a phone call to his old mother, informing her he is going to prison tomorrow. On this last night of freedom, Escobar gathers his closest aides, including Nick, and everyone is assigned a particular task to hide the economic wealth of the cartel. Escobar tells Nick that he needs to kill his guide after the loot has been hidden, much to Nick's horror. We then go back "A Few Years Earlier", where we see Nick, a Canadian surfer, and his brother Dylan building a surf camp. Nick meets Maria, a beautiful local girl, whom we later learn is related to Escobar (he is Maria's uncle). At this point we're 15 min. into the movie. Will Nick kill the guide? What becomes of Nick and Maria? To tell you more would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.Couple of comments: first, the movie's main events surrounding Escobar are based on facts, including the historical surrender in 1991. But I have my doubts that the parallel story lines involving Nick and Maria really happened. If they had, we probably would have b told at the beginning that this movie was "based on true events" or something like it. Not that this diminishes the enjoyment of the film, as somehow this mix of facts and fiction works great. The relationship between Nick and Maria is fun to watch, in particular as Claudia Traisac (playing Maria) is nothing short of a glowing presence on the big screen, what a delight! Benicio del Toro, portraying Escobar, is a heavy-weight and overpowers everyone, similar to what Markon Brando did in The Godfather. Josh Hutcherson is okay as Nick. His best moment in the movie is when he and Maria attend a birthday party for Escobar, and along the way Nick comes to the realization of what is really going on and what Escobar does. Priceless! The last 30 min. of the movie provide a nice pay-off and will have you on the edge of your seat."Escobar: Paradise Lost" showed up without any pre-release fanfare or hype at my local art-house theater here in Cincinnati last weekend, and I finally had a chance to check it out. The matinée screening where I saw this at was attended okay but not great. I must say that I was very pleasantly surprised by this movie, which turned out to be much better than what I had expected. If you are in the mood for a tough-as-nails crime drama with several top-notch performances, I encourage you to seek this out, be it in the theater, on VOD or eventually on DVD/Blu-ray. "Escobar: Paradise Lost" is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!