Our Fantasia Film Festival 2026 coverage continues with an action thriller in the tradition of Dredd and The Raid: Attack on Paradise.
Rarely do you find a unique premise for an action film. Most of the time, action films’ plots are something that you’ve seen before, leaving the film’s success in the execution. This is no different for Attack on Paradise; the story is a well-worn one of the siege subgenre that the recent likes of The Raid and Dredd made four-course meals out of. A man must survive inside a building in order to save his aging mother. Attack on Paradise may not be a four-course meal, but it’s one ginormous double bacon cheeseburger, fries, and milkshake.
After a Con Air-inspired introduction where Suleyman (Saïd Boumazoughe) is sent to prison for the accidental murder of a police officer, we cut to seven years later. Suleyman has been released and wants nothing more than to reunite with his ailing mother. That reunion is cut short when a SWAT unit is deployed to the tenement Suleyman’s mother lives in order to take down Drug lord Prince Hamza (Achmed Akkabi). Suleyman must fight every criminal type from pimps to sex workers to drug addicts to MMA-trained right-hand men if he’s to save his mother and a newly minted rookie SWAT member, Yasmine (Clara Cleymans).
Part of the fun of this particular 99-minute rollercoaster is the Guy Ritchie-esque criminals that show up throughout to challenge our hero. Each has its own unique fighting style and/or challenge that Suleyman must face and overcome to get that much closer to freedom. The highlight being the drug addicts in the dark, night-vision shot set piece that plays out in the middle of the film. One does wish they had leaned into the stylistic aspects of the characters and drawn out the fights more. Additionally, the film feels one more editing polish away from being truly accomplished, with the fight scenes needing that additional push to create a truly unforgettable hard-hitting thrill ride.
That said, Attack on Paradise is an excellent hard-hitting, stylish action thriller that shouldn’t be missed.
Attack on Paradise plays at the Fantasia Film Festival on July 19th
Our Fantasia Film Festival 2026 coverage continues with an action thriller in the tradition of Dredd and The Raid: Attack on Paradise.
Rarely do you find a unique premise for an action film. Most of the time, action films’ plots are something that you’ve seen before, leaving the film’s success in the execution. This is no different for Attack on Paradise; the story is a well-worn one of the siege subgenre that the recent likes of The Raid and Dredd made four-course meals out of. A man must survive inside a building in order to save his aging mother. Attack on Paradise may not be a four-course meal, but it’s one ginormous double bacon cheeseburger, fries, and milkshake.
After a Con Air-inspired introduction where Suleyman (Saïd Boumazoughe) is sent to prison for the accidental murder of a police officer, we cut to seven years later. Suleyman has been released and wants nothing more than to reunite with his ailing mother. That reunion is cut short when a SWAT unit is deployed to the tenement Suleyman’s mother lives in order to take down Drug lord Prince Hamza (Achmed Akkabi). Suleyman must fight every criminal type from pimps to sex workers to drug addicts to MMA-trained right-hand men if he’s to save his mother and a newly minted rookie SWAT member, Yasmine (Clara Cleymans).
Part of the fun of this particular 99-minute rollercoaster is the Guy Ritchie-esque criminals that show up throughout to challenge our hero. Each has its own unique fighting style and/or challenge that Suleyman must face and overcome to get that much closer to freedom. The highlight being the drug addicts in the dark, night-vision shot set piece that plays out in the middle of the film. One does wish they had leaned into the stylistic aspects of the characters and drawn out the fights more. Additionally, the film feels one more editing polish away from being truly accomplished, with the fight scenes needing that additional push to create a truly unforgettable hard-hitting thrill ride.
That said, Attack on Paradise is an excellent hard-hitting, stylish action thriller that shouldn’t be missed.
Attack on Paradise plays at the Fantasia Film Festival on July 19th
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