Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.5

Escobar: Paradise Lost Blu-ray Movie Review

Love is in the air. So are drugs and orders to kill.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman October 7, 2015

There's almost a comedic setup to Escobar: Paradise Lost, a film that tells the story of a young, somewhat naive Canadian who finds his soulmate on Colombia's beaches, only to learn that she's the niece of none other than famed drug kingpin Pablo Escobar. "You think YOU have it bad? Do you have ANY IDEA who my wife's uncle is?" Fortunately, the film isn't another lame-brained "in-laws" Comedy but instead a fairly dark, and very well acted, story of love in the midst of violence and a dangerous path down towards personal corruption. The protagonist must ask himself what he holds more dear: his beautiful fiancé or his very conscience? Can he become the man he never wanted to be keep her hand, or will he be forced to abandoned all he loves to maintain his personal equilibrium? The movie is terrific, at least through its first two acts. It devolves into a fairly bland chase/action film in the third, but the strongly defined characters and believable and engrossing world make Escobar: Paradise Lost a worthwhile film. Just save the popcorn for the final thirty minutes.

Friends?

A young Canadian named Nick (Josh Hutcherson) has moved to the beaches of Colombia with his brother Dylan (Brady Corbet) where they intend to start a small business. Nick meets a beautiful local named Maria (Claudia Traisac) and the two quickly fall in love. Maria happens to be niece to the powerful public figure and drug kingpin Pablo Escobar (Benicio Del Toro). Nick is welcomed into the family as warmly as possible and develops a bonded relationship with Escobar. But when things get hot for the dug lord, he turns to Nick to carry out a mission that will necessarily end with Nick putting a bullet in a man's back. Now, Nick must wrestle with his conscience and find a way to escape the predicament while still maintaining his bond with Maria.

There are a few moments when Escobar: Paradise Lost feels achingly close to going Godfather, but for the most part it plays its own hand and delivers a strong foundational narrative aided by two terrific lead performances. The picture is at its best as it explores young Nick's inner journey, one that sees him through a wide range of emotions, including giddy young love, deep romance, a gradual realization of the greater situation in which he finds himself, and finally, and most apropos to the story, a deep inner and outer personal conflict by which he's challenged to decide his destiny and, essentially, the fate of his soul. He has the opportunity to hold onto the love of his life, but at the expense of his very essence and knowing that staying by Maria's side will, at the very least, leave him forever indebted to Escobar and, at worst, transformed into a monster from which he can never return. The film offers a fascinating juxtaposition, then, as it pits heart against soul, true love against a man's conscience. Poor Nick cannot have his cake and eat it, too. He's going to lose a part of himself -- or his entire life, if he's not careful -- no matter which fork in the road he takes. Choose wisely, young man.

The film's narrative details are supported by two incredible lead performances. Benicio Del Toro unsurprisingly dominates the proceedings, breathing a striking duality into Escobar that, like many other crime kingpin figures depicted in film and television, sees him at once both ruthlessly bloodthirsty and practically immune to the violence and, on the other side, a tenderhearted family man with nary a weight to be found on his shoulders. Del Toro perfects that dichotomy. Even, then, as the character isn't particularly unique, the Oscar-winning actor (Best Supporting Actor, Traffic) thrives in his ability to so precisely play with that balance and make the character as necessarily menacing as possible while still opening him up to bring Nick into the fold. It's a fascinating performance, because Del Toro plays it so close to the vest that it's nearly impossible to tell if he really loves Nick as something as a surrogate son or if he sees him only as a naive and necessarily entangled foot soldier who can carry out some of his dirty work while enjoying the protection of tight-knit family and the certain assurances that envelopment brings with it. On the other hand is Josh Hutcherson, the Hunger Games veteran and now all grown up since Zathura. He brings a good everyman quality to the part. He cannot find quite the same complexity as Del Toro, even as the character is strained to his limits, but he plays it well through the first two acts and handles the rougher stuff nicely enough in the film's tonally uneven third.

Escobar: Paradise Lost Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Escobar: Paradise Lost features a good-looking 1080p transfer. Flaws are few and limited to some heavy banding in a few darker shots -- an opening dark shot of a shirtless Escobar is probably the single worst offender in the film -- and uneven black levels that fluctuate between unnatural paleness and mild crush. Otherwise, the transfer is pleasantly enjoyable and stable. Daytime scenes reveal a nuanced color spectrum that's bright and lifelike. The natural Colombian greens sparkle, clothes are cheery, and support colors around various locations are naturally vibrant. Details are strong, perhaps not so finely exacting as those seen in the absolute best Blu-ray releases but viewers will enjoy the razor-sharp definition by which faces (beads of sweat, pores, wrinkles, facial hear), sweat-drenched clothes, leaves, and dirt terrain all yield a good bit of tangible definition. A light but evident grain structure accentuates. Skin tones can push mildly warm, understandable under the hot Colombian sun. Aside from the blacks and light banding, there are no other flaws of note in what is, in sum, a very enjoyable and filmic presentation from Anchor Bay.

Escobar: Paradise Lost Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Escobar: Paradise Lost arrives on Blu-ray with a satisfying DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. This is a fairly straightforward listen that presents everything in good working order but never goes the extra mile to truly dazzle. Basic ambient effects are nicely immersive and natural, particularly various jungle atmospherics that often saturate the back speakers. Seaside waves are nicely potent and all but splash water into the listing area. Several gunshots deliver adequate heft but lack lifelike precision. Music is nicely spaced and well defined. Dialogue is the main component here, and the spoken word enjoys naturally crisp and front-center placement. This is a good example of a track that does everything right but still flies under the radar, for the most part. In other words, most won't notice anything special, which means it's doing its job.

Escobar: Paradise Lost Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Escobar: Paradise Lost contains only one supplement. "Catching Pablo" The Making of 'Escobar: Paradise Lost' (1080p, 31:23) is a very well spoken analysis of the film and a detailed examination of the filmmaking process.

Escobar: Paradise Lost Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Escobar: Paradise Lost is film that, despite a fairly routine story arc, manages to impress -- sometimes even mesmerize -- in its establishing and middle acts. The third act devolves into a well done but nevertheless trite and predictable Chase/Action movie that's absent the finely honed dramatic depth of the first two, but fortunately the film survives on its center narrative and performances, which are terrific, particularly from Del Toro. Anchor Bay's Blu-ray release contains one thirty-minute extra to go along with quality video and audio. Highly recommended.