Saïd Boumazoughe receives a “created by” credit just below director Bob Colaers at the end of “Attack on Paradise,” amplifying the fact that this project is very much the personal fantasy of an action vehicle realized by the Belgian-Moroccan star. That translates into something very much like “Die Hard,” with elements of “Assault on Precinct 13,” “High Rise” and more, albeit with a decidedly more diverse cast and character list, reflecting both the actor’s own background and the modern multicultural reality of Antwerp.

Aside from that adjustment, there’s nothing conceptually very original about this story of a prodigal son who returns to find his cranky old mother who needs rescuing from both organized crime and a police raid. But it has energy and style to spare, making it a genre exercise whose pleasures far outweigh its familiarity. While Belgian action cinema probably won’t be the next big thing, this fun and humorous effort should help it make headway abroad.

Lanky, hooded Suleyman (Boumazoughe) is minding his own business walking home one night when a car nearly hits him, prompting some choice words. Unfortunately, the drivers of the unmarked vehicle are police officers very willing to arrest and file dubious charges on their prey, who is non-white and appears to be a gang member. Seven years later, our hero is released from prison. He addresses the ailing mother Fatma (Fatima Khanfour) directly, who quickly goes from tears of joy at this return to happy rage at her “abandonment.”

But too soon, there are far worse dangers to worry about. In his absence, the housing project Suley grew up in was taken over by the crime boss known as Prince (Achmed Akkabi). This international fugitive from justice has turned his seventeen floors into his personal underworld headquarters. Until now, police have treated this illicit empire as a “no-go zone.” Today, however, they are finally executing a long-planned raid to capture the boss, shut down their operations, and imprison everyone, although casualties are apparently expected, and even encouraged, to pile up.

Unfortunately, the bad guys are very well prepared for such an occasion, both in terms of surveillance cameras and heavy artillery. Even worse for our protagonist, this battle begins moments after his maternal reunion, when he went to the building’s basement to retrieve his stored belongings. The chaos spreads so immediately that simply returning to Mom’s apartment is life-threatening.

Suleyman gains a reluctant ally in police Yasmine (Clara Claymans), while the rest of his SWAT team is quickly exterminated. He also vows to help their cause, which means fighting Prince’s countless lackeys and top lieutenants. The latter consist of brutal professional boxer The Lion (Jamal Ben Saddik), former Congolese child soldier Minza (Rudy Mukendi), Albanian arms dealer Tchuko (Soroush Helali) and drug trafficking supervisor Nikita (Imanuelle Grives), who is very problematic because she and Suleyman used to be a couple.

The rushed pace allows no respite, although there are enough ironic notes, character quirks and unconventional details (remote-controlled doors, goats, a knife fight on a waterbed) to prevent macho monotony from setting in. With little time for backstory, we simply have to accept that Suley is a nearly invincible one-man army, and Boumazoughe’s air of embattled wit makes it easy to swallow. The supporting figures are quite colorful, although Akkabi’s sneering villain boss arguably makes less of an impression than his subordinates.

“Colorful” is definitely the word for Steven Vanvolsem’s cinematography, which bathes the gritty settings in candied tones, another credulity-stretching element that works very well. Editor Brian Ent helps convey physical actions that don’t glare to the “John Wick”, opting instead for an entertaining, messy and not too acrobatic tenor. As the energy continually increases, Maxim Lany and Jonas Nuttin’s score transitions from ominous woodwinds to pulsing electronica, with a clear incorporation of call-to-prayer-like motifs that underscore the hero’s Muslim faith.

If the script by Sven Huybrechts (of the World War II thriller “Torpedo”), Boumazoughe and co-star Salahdine Ibnou Kacemi is the most routine element here, it nevertheless repeats hackneyed ideas at a rapid pace. The climax could be a little more climactic, but otherwise, Colaers’ second directorial feature, following the smaller-scale horror-comedy “Trizombie,” offers too much of a moment while watching to quibble about how quickly it can fade from memory.