Paradise Lost

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.

First thing I have to say about the movie: Benicio Del Toro. Although I am not a big fan of him, this movie shines with his charisma. Great performance from the first scene to the last.

Although the movie is about the clash between a mafia leader and his niece's boyfriend, there are several subtexts that can be pulled out. One of them is the love around this drug dealer by the fellow People of his country. He starts a fight against the government and he gets as many supporters as the legal side; maybe even more.

Josh Hutcherson gives us hope for the future movies with his great talent despite his moderate outlook. Throughout the movie you can't stop looking at amazingly beautiful Maria (Claudia Traisac) and I can't say these two both are the perfect match.

A few words for the director,Andrea Di Stefano; this is a very impressive story-telling for a first movie. I believe we'll hear more about him very soon.

After watching a movie like 'Blow' (about George Jung) or Goodfellas (about Henry Hill) this movie seemed horribly irrelevant from Escobar's life. The movie, and plot, are both excellent but the main focus is not Escobar himself, and his story was not fully told but rather a story of this white dude who becomes friends with him and gets in trouble.

I think this would have made a great movie if it didn't have the title of "Escobar" because it really isn't a movie about him. Escobar (character) appeared in many other great movies but wasn't the main focus, and that worked. This title, however, is unfair because now this movie will be the main one about Escobar while it shows nothing of him.

Hats off to Benicio del Toro, another solid performance!

I wasn't expecting much out of this film. But I do enjoy del Toro, as well as Hutcherson, so I thought I'd give it a shot. It was a little fast in some parts, but overall not a terrible film. For those saying it was based on true events, that's a big stretch. Nowhere does it say that it is based on true events. The movie is very loosely based around the final years of Pablo Escobar. Think of it like Titanic, true event, fictional characters. Neither Hutchersons or Traisacs characters actually existed. As for the ending, it's pretty obvious what happens, even if you don't see it happen on screen. I would have liked a little more explanation as to how characters ended up where they were through the film, but the movie doesn't lose anything because of it. In the end, it was an OK film with some wonderful acting. Worth a watch.

I guess a role like that in Hunger Games can make comparisons like that easy. Also if you spend most of the time with Josh instead of Benicio (playing Escobar) you might feel tempted to question what the movie is actually about. But there are hints at the beginning which become bigger towards the end.

I'm not sure, that's how Escobar actually was. But the man depicted is anything but a Saint, even if he might have done some nice things for his people. Obviously some things are heightened for movie purposes especially towards the end. The suspense is there, but the movie might be even better, if there was more of Escobar. His character being mesmerizing every time he is on screen. But maybe that was the reason. He came off too good and therefor might have confused people (again especially towards the end) ... Decent effort of a real crime thriller