Movie Review Paradise City (2022)
Paradise City , 2022.
Directed by Chuck Russell.
With John Travolta, Bruce Willis, Blake Jenner, Priya Lundberg, Stephen Dorff, Corey Large, Branscombe Richmond, Lorenzo Antonucci, Kate Katzman, Carrie Bernans, Mary Ann Pereira and Amber Abara.
SUMMARY :
Ryan Swan must fight his way through the Hawaiian underworld to take revenge on the king who killed his father.
There's a moment in Paradise City where Bruce Willis' character shows up saying "My name is Yan Suo like a bird" while trying to give birth smoothly like James Bond. This phrase has sunk into my soul, which I cannot say until the end of this boring exercise.
It starts off promising (and by promising I mean there's a decent action sequence in the middle that ends with someone jumping out a window into a swimming pool), then it all turns into a lot of fluff and movies. best seller. For the first time since Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction, Bruce Willis and John Travolta appeared on screen together, but not before ending on a positive note.
As sleepy and uncoordinated as Bruce Willis' speeches have gotten lately (which isn't entirely his fault, given his diagnosis of aphasia), it's still a lot more fun than watching Blake Jenner. Take on action boss Ryan Swann, who roams with local Maui Savannah police officer (Priya Lundberg) investigating the murder of her bounty hunter father, who apprehended a dangerous criminal before things escalated. At times, Paradise City feels like bad tourist advertising for Hawaii (how can such beautiful areas become so commonplace) with models rather than actors (some of the dialogue is painful to hear).
Also on the scene is another bounty hunter, Steven Dorff Robbie, the man with the sordid history responsible for Ian's divorce. That means Ryan will also have to work with the man who ruined her childhood to get to the bottom of the mystery. However, Robbie isn't worried about Ian. wants to enlist a local UFC wannabe fighter with a bounty on his head, a mostly nonsensical subplot that conveniently ties the character into the main story.
Meanwhile, John Travolta's Buck works with cartels and corrupt politicians to acquire land and start a profitable business. And since we haven't seen Bruce Willis and John Travolta together on screen yet, it's undeniable that Ian is still alive. I'd say it's creepy that the movie is trying to influence the character's dead-end path, but there's not much Bruce Willis can do on screen, whether it's personal choice or the limits of aphasia. However, there is a pleasant surprise with one of John Travolta's best roles and films adding some much needed silliness and fun to this arduous process.
The overall plot of the story is good, but director Chuck Russell (co-writer with Edward Drake and Corey Large, the first to direct several VOD films with Bruce Willis) does not tie into the action. There are too many scenes of characters questioning each other and redundant flashbacks that don't add much meaning. Things are a little worse in Paradise City when the characters are transported to Maui as the film never cares about their struggles or their culture. When father and son are reunited, the filmmakers quickly put down the resistance in a sequence that lasts just a minute.
Much of the above could be forgiven if Paradise City offered thrills and lots of dead bodies, but Blake Jenner isn't very convincing when he gets into a fight, which isn't the case in the film. That's a shame considering the credits include footage of Bruce Willis and John Travolta hilariously working on it. Meanwhile, the public will ask. "Oh, won't you take me home, please?"
Flashing Myth Rating - Movie: ★ / Movie: ★ ★
Robert Coder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Critics Association. He is also the editor of Flickering Myth Reviews. Stay tuned for more reviews here, follow me on Twitter or Letterboxd, or email me at MetalGearSolid719@gmail.com.
