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01/01/00
Return to Paradise (1998)
70
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:43
Fresh:30
Rotten:13
Average Rating:6.6/10
Runtime: 1 hr 52 mins
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis: Tony is a successful architect, ready to be married. Sherriff is a devil-may-care limo driver. Two years prior, they had been in Malaysia living the high life with a third buddy, Lewis. Lewis... [More]
Starring: Anne Heche, Vince Vaughn, Joaquin Phoenix, David Conrad
Director: Joseph Ruben
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Reviews for Return to Paradise
Surprisingly effective, if highly unlikely, drama of the soul and the conscience.
01/01/00
Vaughn and Heche are the keys to giving this dilemma a human face, and both are excellent.
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...It all seems to be a predictable formula-driven film instead of one filled with an unpredictable raw energy.
01/01/00
Director Joseph Ruben has crafted a riveting morality play you won't soon forget.
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While Return to Paradise headlines several surprises, the grandest revelation is Anne Heche.
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The plot carries surprises right up until the last, but with no cheap shocks or selling out, only painful inevitabilities.
01/01/00
The best performance in the film belongs to Anne Heche, who continues to impress with her range. Her work here is passionate, and she effectively conveys the inner conflict of a woman whose divided loyalties tear at her soul.
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Top CriticThough the clock ticks relentlessly enough to sustain the story's tension, the film finally seems to be a character study in search of a gripping plot.
01/01/00
Top CriticThe characters aren't very sympathetic. That's not because of a lack of effort from the cast so much as heavy-handed direction and laughable dialogue.
01/01/00
Solid premise filled with a plethora of moral dilemmas, this film rocks you through the gamut of emotions on the strength of its superb casting and genuine performances.
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The story takes too long to set up, and the movie goes limp despite its eight-day time frame that's supposed to create tension.
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Return to Paradise isn't a bad film. It's just one that doesn't live up to its potential.
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An eminently respectable effort without ever becoming a compelling one.
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Granted, Vaughn's character arc is a wonder to behold, but I can't help but think that these characters just aren't the sort of guys anyone's really going to give a damn about.
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An intelligent and adult look at people making hard choices in the real world.
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Discovering that his father's opinion of him is as low as his opinion of himself, Vaughn conveys his dismay and a new self-awareness with a furrow of his brow and a kind of panic in his eyes, an economy of physicality that nevertheless speaks volumes.
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A largely intriguing drama whose by-the-numbers paces are elevated to a higher level by the strong acting ensemble.
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This is a major example of a good idea, one that could have worked, being submitted to a Hollywood tag-team makeover.
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Although we've been conditioned to want something to cheer about in the last reels of moral thrillers, this picture is all the more satisfying and memorable because it eschews these expectations.
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