Watch Escobar: Paradise Lost For Free

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

the audience applauded

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

The story-telling is good with flashbacks.The film is both funny and heartbreaking. You smile in a scene and get a soulcrushing revelation in the next.

Not Wanting to Make Another Crime Lord, Major Drug Dealer Movie, the Creative Team for This One Decided to Go for the Young Love Element as a Contrast to the Brutality. It Doesn't Work. The Appeal of Both Stories is Lost Somewhere Between Paradise and Hell.Up Front, Benicio Del Toro is Perfectly Cast and the Bland, Blank Looking Josh Hutcherson Does His Best to be Bewildered and Frantic, but Mostly the Movie is a Major Disappointment with a Modicum of Insight and Intrigue.The Romantic Angle Fails to Convince or Impress and the Cartel Created Here is Half-Baked and Hardly Takes Advantage of Gangsterism Anti-Hero Glare. Sure, Escobar is Hero-Worshiped by the Peons (much like Capone in Chicago) Doing what Amounts to "Soup Kitchens" to Misdirect and Seduce the Populace.The Film Tries to be Something Different and was a Good Attempt but Doomed by the Lack of Amalgamation Needed to Make for This Experiment to Succeed. It is Much Harder Doing This Sort of Thing Than Talking About Doing This Sort of Thing. The Movie Manages Some Suspense in the Third Act and is Worth Watching for it Finally Develops Into What Most People Expect from the Genre.Ultimately it Fails to Combine the Two Ingredients and Maybe there is a Great Movie to be Made with This Sort of Story, but This Isn't It and is More Frustrating than Informative or Entertaining.

After watching the first hour I couldn't help feeling that the film felt a little bit rushed- you didn't really get to know the characters or understand their relationships. You didn't feel any strong connections between them for example between Nick and his brother (It's not even made obvious that they are actually brothers until later than it should have been pointed out in the film. The script just felt weak and rushed and even the acting felt quite poor.That is, until around halfway through the film when this all changes when the real "action" takes place. You can see why Josh Hutcherson was cast in this role (after his roles in the Hunger Games). Benicio Del Toro looked the part however I thought he'd portray the character as more menacing and dangerous, to the point where you could feel just how powerful the character was when he walked into the room (See Wagner Moura's version from Narcos) You do end up feeling part of this gripping action thriller eventually. The tense action scenes are brilliant and you are definitely rewarded for sticking it out and continuing to watch after the first part. After seeing the trailer for this film, I couldn't wait to see it. The premise sounded great, a love story based around the worlds most notorious drug lord and the impact he had on the couple. Before watching the film, I'd seen IMDb's rating of it was a lot lower than what I expected it to be so I wasn't expecting to be blown away and I definitely wasn't in the first half. In the end I'm glad I stuck it out as I was pleasantly surprised by the 2nd hour. Not the greatest of films and a lot could have been done better but definitely worth a watch!

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

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