Paradise City

Back in the day, a movie starring Bruce Willis, John Travolta, and Stephen Dorff was something to look forward to. Nowadays it is more something that sets off all the alarm bells. And yes, this is absolutely nothing more than a very cheaply made B-movie, but that said: it is definitely not the only thing the genre has to offer.

You can always safely assume with these kinds of films: the bigger the name, the smaller his or her role in the actual film will be. This is absolutely not a film where Willis, Travolta, or Dorff play the leading role. Yet their roles are still somewhat larger than you might expect beforehand.

Similarly, Travolta is quite good and entertaining as the big bad guy. In the end, I’d even say he’s the best this movie has to offer.

What these films often fail to excel at is the story. And no, even in this case it is all very standard and simplistic. Still, I can’t call it very bad. Perhaps the point is also a bit that I’ve seen a lot of these types of movies, which were vastly worse to follow with their story.

In this case, Paradise City is at least very nice to follow, and, within the context of the film, it is not even all that ridiculous. Of course, it lacks good tension, logic, and good surprises, but it is absolutely not annoying to have to follow all of them. I can even say that I often felt entertained.

• Paradise City