ATTACK ON PARADISE – Fantasia International Film Festival 2026

Bob Colaers’ “Attack on Paradise”, the latest ass-kicking action film to come out of Fantasia, has great action, a solid leading man and bad story execution.

Synopsis

Follows Suleyman, who returns home after a seven-year prison sentence to find his apartment block seized by drug dealers and must protect his mother from the surrounding violence.

Review
It’s never a bad idea to see an action-packed, ass-kicking thriller at a festival like Fantasia. At the very least, it’s an opportunity to be entertained and experience something entirely weird and new. Bob Colaers’ Dutch-Arabic language film “Attack on Paradise” has a plot familiar to most action aficionados – newly released Suleyman (star and co-writer Saïd Boumazoughe) comes home to his old apartment complex nicknamed “Paradise” and realizes it has become hell incarnate. Caring for his ailing mother, he aims to tend to his own business and evade powerful drug dealers setting up shop around every hallway and corner, all working under drug lord Prince Hamza (Achmed Akkabi) who places himself at the top floor. Unfortunately, Suleyman’s plans to stay on the straight and narrow are foiled as a police operation is currently under way to infiltrate “Paradise” and take out Hamza – and any person (innocent or not) that stands in their way (told you, this sounds familiar). Suleyman soon teams up with rookie cop Yasmine (Clara Cleymans) as they race against time to protect his mother and get out of Paradise alive. Based off the plot alone, audiences will no doubt be thinking of contemporary action classics like “The Raid” or even earlier classics like “Die Hard”. However, what the film has in an exciting action premise is unfortunately lost in uneven execution and tonal shifts.

In its opening shot, “Attack on Paradise” has promise in both its action and character development. On a rainy night, Suleyman is held up by police, questioning where he is going and what he’s doing. Caught with medicine on his body for his mother, the police push him even further. In a great intense shot, he drops kicks one of the police then quickly ends up in cuffs. Seven years later, in his prison cell we see three key items that speaks to his newly-found mindset – quotes from the book of Job, a book on healing meditation and his prison release document. Minutes later, we tap in with Yasmine as she gets her kid ready for school and comes to work with a tough, resilient attitude to take down any opposing force that comes her way. Within the first 10 minutes, we have protagonists nicely established with different motivations and goals. From there, the execution of the story fails to keep up with its solid characterization. “Paradise” carries solid action scenes, primarily with Boumazoughe proving himself to be a competent leading action hero. He brings a humble depth to the character, kicking ass where need be but always choosing the non-violent option first. But ass-kicking and characterization aside, there is a dull execution to the film’s pacing. The tension of cops shooting their way floor to floor to get to the kingpin is not as exciting as it should be. Emotional moments are cut through with odd quirky humor, action scenes occur (and stop) sometimes without rhyme or reason and the motivation or goal of getting out of Paradise is unfortunately not as exciting towards the climax as it was in the beginning.

There are a couple moments where Bob Colaers’ action direction gets a chance to shine. A sequence to note is when the police are preparing to unleash hell on Paradise and head into the building but run into a surprise waiting on them at the front door. What unfolds is a jaw-dropping action scene involving a gatling gun and clean sniper headshots. Another great sequence is when Suleyman is trapped within an apartment and has to fight off a drugged-out couple looking to rob him. The sequence is filmed from the perspective of a camcorder with the couple lunging at Suleyman like zombies. It’s an effective action sequence that is as fun as it is unsettling.

Closing Thoughts
“Attack on Paradise” has its moments of fun, exciting ass-kicking action but the fact that these moments are few and far in-between doesn’t do the film any favors. While it carries a solid leading man and good characterization, everything else sadly gets lost in translation and the film as a whole becomes a derivative effort of the classics that came before it. At the very least, people will be entertained and that at least counts for something.

Trailer