Review of Escobar: Paradise Lost (2014) by Chris O — 16 Nov 2015

Andrea Di Stefano's directorial debut is a solid one, and is accompanied by great actors, along with a decent crime drama.

Here, we follow the story of Nick (played by Josh Hutcherson), who marries into a family that just so happens to be part of a drug ring. Although he cares immensely about Maria (played by Claudia Traisac), Pablo Escobar (played by Benicio del Toro) will drive him to the edge of sanity, and change his life forever.

This film, although be it interesting, felt really long. It was a 2 hour movie that honestly felt like 2 and 30 minutes. Even with a slow first half, and an exciting second half, I still had a sigh of relief by the time the credits roll. In all honesty, this movie just felt incomplete. I never really felt like I had closure, and this movie felt sloppy in a lot of aspects.

To start, the actors in this movie are what drove me to check it out in the first place. I've always been a fan of Josh Hutcherson, and he gave another great, yet emotional performance here. He honestly seemed too young to be playing the role, as it established that his character was around 25-30 years old, but either way, Josh Hutcherson has not yet disappointed thus far in his career. Benicio del Toro gave a great performance also, and a was a welcome addition to this movie. Even though Nick was the main character, it was probably more of Benicio's show.

There were a few emotional moments in this movie too, even if this film doesn't move at the fastest pace. I was fine with the pacing for the most part, but it still felt choppy. The editing was confusing at times and they didn't do a great job of telling us how much time had gone by. Sometimes, months, or even a year had passed by and it took a while to figure that out. Being a crime drama, this movie had a pretty slow first half. Although the first half was passable, it wasn't something I'll remember. It was mostly decent character development, along with a very mildly intriguing plot.

The story overall was entertaining, and the director did a good job of making you feel like you were stuck in this situation with Nick. The final half of this movie brought in the question of morality, and it had its share of intense moments. You should probably give this movie a chance for the second half alone.

In the end, there's not a ton to say about this movie. The acting was great and it was mildly entertaining throughout. The pacing was slow and the editing wasn't too great, but we get a few emotional and dark moments, along with a solid plot. This movie was just a bit too messy and slow at times for me to give it a high rating, but I will say it deserves a fresh rating.