Escobar: Paradise Lost (2014) Review!!

Synopsis – In Colombia, a young surfer meets the woman of his dreams – and then he meets her uncle, Pablo Escobar.

My Take – Once upon a time anything with Benicio Del Toro in it, would be guaranteed just awesome! Over the years, like many other stars, his choices has been placed in question. But it seems like he finally has a film in hand, which may redeem him from all his past films. Based on the true story (mixed with a fictional love story) of Pablo Escobar (Benicio Del Toro), a politician / drug kingpin, who was revered and loved by the common man in Colombia. He built schools, clinics and churches in their communities. He took care of “problems”. A loving husband, father, and an uncle who could do no wrong by his niece, Maria (Claudia Traisac). A young Canadian surfer Nick (Josh Hutcherson) falls in love with her & gets pulled into the dangerous Escobar Family business. As he and Maria plan to escape the family not knowing that his last mission is set up to not bring him back alive as nobody escapes Pablo Escobar.

I was concerned that the movie would evolve quickly into a cheese fest and it never did. The action is good and the plot is highly plausible and well-paced. This is NOT an Escobar biopic. It uses the person of Pablo Escobar which was real, but the love story around it is completely created into the real events from 1991 . It is a really well-told story in which Escobar plays a central role. But the best part of this film is that it skips all the Hollywood cliches. There’s no happy ending for anyone. Nobody is spared the cruelty, not even the children. There’s no walking away into the sunset to live happily ever after. It’s the real deal, a portrait of what happens when evil gains ultimate power and convinces itself that it is good. There wasn’t much I didn’t like about this movie. The cinematography is also superb, giving this film a similar feel to any number of classic gangster films. Director and writer, Andrea Di Stefano, offers up a solid script, he lets Del Toro weave his magic as Pablo, ominously talking in riddles behind which are his murderous intentions. He is nothing short of superb as Escobar!

Josh Hutcherson who you might know from The Hunger Games plays well too and proves that he can do other movies and proves with this movie that he is a good actor. He gives us hope for the future movies with his great talent despite his moderate outlook. Its hard to turn away from the beautiful Claudia Traisac. Her pairing & chemistry with Hutcherson is truly marvelous. On the whole ‘Escobar: Paradise Lost’ is well made film, its not like any Hollywood major budget film, may even be filled with cliches. Nevertheless director Andrea Di Stefano has managed to keep the setting fresh & takes us into the very suspenseful and realistic life of a drug lord. Give it a watch!