Paradise City (2022)

Paradise City is the kind of sun-drenched, pulpy crime thriller that knows exactly what it is: a lightweight, swaggering ride through a Hawaiian underworld where the scenery is gorgeous and the intentions are gloriously disreputable. Chuck Russell keeps things moving with a breezy sense of momentum, letting the action and attitude do the heavy lifting while the cast—especially Travolta—leans into the material with a “slum with style” kind of vivacity that’s hard not to enjoy. It’s not a deep character study and it won’t convert anyone who needs realism or subtlety, but if you’re on the fence and craving an easy, violent, wisecracking genre diversion, this one delivers a solid evening’s worth of escapism. Just go in expecting a slick, casual B-movie vibe with sharp language and plenty of gunfire, and you’ll likely have fun.

Paradise City is clearly aiming for sun-soaked, old-school revenge action with a Hawaiian crime underworld backdrop and a couple of recognizable faces to sell the pulp. The problem is it plays like a greatest-hits mixtape of better thrillers: the plot is painfully predictable, the dialogue often clunks, and the pacing lurches between “nothing’s happening” and “sudden chaos” without much tension in between. If you’re expecting Chuck Russell to bring the snap and energy of his best work, or hoping the cast can elevate thin material, you’ll probably feel shortchanged. Still, if you just want background-friendly gunplay, tough-guy posturing, and a few breezy island visuals with no surprises, it might do the job.