Roger Ebert of the "Chicago Sun-Times" gave the film 3.5 out of 4, writing: ""Return to Paradise" has been compared to "Midnight Express", another film about a thoughtless American facing the forfeit of his life in prison far from home. That was more of a visceral film. This one is more cerebral. Like Sheriff and Tony, we're pulled both ways by the story: We want them to go back and save Lewis, but we're not exactly sure we'd do the same. That's the Prisoner's Dilemma in a nutshell." Owen Gleiberman of "Entertainment Weekly" wrote: ""Return to Paradise" sounds as gimmicky as a "Twilight Zone" episode, but it's not. The film tracks the week in which Sheriff struggles to discover his conscience, and it puts us right in touch with his squirmy, divided soul."