Newly released from prison, Suleyman got to his mother with only one stop, to get her a gift. Once at his old home, he soon realizes that drug dealers have taken over the building, forced his mother to relocate to a different apartment, and he will not stand for that.
Written by Saïd Boumazoughe, Sven Huybrechts, and Salahdine Ibnou Kacemi, and directed by Bob Colaers, Attack on Paradise is a few good guys versus many many bad guys in a set location that they cannot leave without the risk of getting shot. While the film is fun and filled with action, do not take the The Raid comparisons too at heart as it is action-packed but not nearly as much as the new action classic. The film is good here, but comparisons will lead to disappointment. The writing here works without reinventing the wheel. It’s a familiar story with some familiar twists and turns, but it’s brought the screen well enough that the familiarity isn’t an issue. The writing and direction work well together here and make to a decently entertaining film.
The cast of Attack on Paradise is really good. While most of them are relegated to violence and screaming, a few get a bit more to work with and make the most of what they get. Lead Saïd Boumazoughe comes off solid with a touch of sensitivity when it comes to his mother and a few others. His work sells the film and makes it a starring vehicle for him. Unfortunately, the actress who plays Aisha is not listed on the IMDB page yet, but she deserves her flowers. In her short screen time, she manages to imbue her character with strength and care while giving the viewer a sort of grounding within everything going on. Also giving a solid performance is Clara Cleymans as Yasmine, and the bad guys make for decent bad guys in general (with a few exceptions, but hey, it happens).
The cinematography by Steven Vanvolsem works well and does something many have not achieved lately: letting the viewer see the action even in darker scenes. This means that attention was paid to lighting, framing, color correcting, and so much more. The work here looks great and really makes the film shine. The editing by Brian Ent also works hard at letting the viewer see the action while keeping it moving at a decent pace during the action. However, the pace does die in a glacial way in a few scenes, and this may be more a case for the way the scenes were written or directed (or both).
Attack on Paradise is a decently entertaining action film that follows a familiar story arc with a few changes here and there. While it can easily be compared, it gains from not doing so. It’s its own thing (mostly) and it has fun giving the viewer some truly violent sequences with some more than decent acting in general.
Fantasia 2026 runs from July 16th to August 2nd, 2026