This is a thriller wrapped around Colombia's infamous drug baron Pablo Escobar. If you remember the fact that it's all fiction and suspend your logic for two hours it's an OK movie for its genre. As most of other reviewers put it Benicio Del Toro does a phenomenal job in his portrayal of El Patron although I don't know if it was a true characterization with all details of his personal traits. This is because at times, Del Toro seemed to give too much depth to a ruthless killer. However, the real problem is with Josh Hutcherson who looks like a miscast for his role especially in the second part of the movie involving suspense and action. Indeed, Josh's worried, sad puppy face reflects the true emotional state of a normal person who is involved with the drug kingpin whose track record is decorated with the murder of thousands. The same character, however, looks too wimpy to pull all the action, hence the ambiguity in the cast. With his indecisive, unconfident and overwrought appearance, Josh is not believable at all to play a person who'd get into a cat and mouse game with professional murderers which ends up with a gunfight. Indeed, despite the suspense, most of the subplots involving action scenes were glossed over and far from credibility. For example, it is not clear why the national security forces were so quick to collaborate with his henchman to search for Josh when they had been so busy with tracking down El Patron prior to his decision to give himself in. But for a person who wouldn't nitpick about such fine details, the movie is entertaining enough.

So anyway, we was sitting around surf camp in Colombia when somebody said how cool it would be to open a surf camp and then somebody else said but Paolo Escobar would get you. So I didn't know, like, who this dude was, but I checked him out on Wikipedia which was enough to know that he was a coke dude and from colombia and a couple of other stuffs, and then i made up the rest. Didn't think that Hollywood would buy it, or get that dude from the usual suspects in. Bonus!Or something like this. Otherwise what could explain such nonsense? Let's ignore the fictional characters & inaccurate events, at least there could have been some continuity and a storyline which didn't contradict the expressions on the faces of the actors.

Paradise lost can be described as a romance, thriller as it depicts a cultivating love story between an innocent, seemingly dumb Canadian boy and a compassionate Columbian girl, while portraying a very well played Pablo Escobar, who is intense, powerful and does anything to protect his family. Watching paradise lost, it seems as though two separate movies were compiled together into one. The first half unravels the love between Nick and Maria, which drags on and never really escalates or blossoms into something meaningful as the movie ends on a whim, leaving the audience to believe that there may be a sequel. The second half of the movie is adventurous and captivating, showing a dangerous hide and seek game between Nick and Pablo Escobar's guards, as they try to hunt Nick, after he successfully figured out their plot to kill him. If the director decided to dedicate the entire movie to either of these story lines, the movie would have been much more enjoyable. Even though, the movie is created around the story of Nick and Maria, Benicio Del Toro's impressively played Pablo Escobar steals the spotlight from the lead role of the movie and his supporting act unknowingly becomes the center of attention, as the menacing and dark Pablo Escobar is hard to overlook. Andrea DI Stefano, the director of the film is able to bring alive the Columbian culture with vibrant, colorful costumes while expertly depicting Pablo Escobar's famed Hacienda Naples, that is filled with expensive art and exotic animals. Overall, Escobar: Paradise lost is an intertwining movie presenting a blossoming love between two culturally divided young individuals, and a wealthy and commanding uncle who will stop at nothing to ensure that his family is not betrayed by any outside influences.

In the film Escobar: Paradise Lost, the editing generates excitement and anxiety, creating an interesting and spacial style that reflects a cinematic signature for Andrea Di Stefano's impressive debut as a director. In addition, the hand held camera movement in every scene makes us feel emotions and sensations from Nick's (Josh Hutcherson) point of view throughout the narrative. Furthermore, the very well detailed mis-en-scence reveals thorough study and research of locations, props, and costumes; intensity of colors and light in each frame are magnificent. Moreover, the efficient use of foreground, middle-ground, and background from beginning to end demonstrates a well-designed piece of art. In the plot, we find murder, corrupt governmental, news, and prison systems, a love story, and a web of lies crafted by power-hungry Pablo Escobar (Benicio Del Toro). It was important for the form not to get in the way of the content in order tell the story in a realistic way, involve the audience, and help them understand the social structure of Colombia at that time. Nick is the most important character in this love story, and he is an innocent victim, used as a marionette by Escobar, the world's most dangerous person.