Rating: 
Summary: Very Boring and Unoriginal
Review: I don't understand why this movie has received such great reviews when it's nothing more than a overhyped docu-drama. There's nothing new in this movie that any moderately educated person wouldn't already know about the illegal drug market just by reading the paper or watching the news. Urban street low-lifes who sell crack to rich sub-urbanites; rigid drug czars who think that militarizing police departments and expanding the penal system are good ways of battling drugs; corrupt Latin businessmen in the "coffee business" whose wives are so busy shopping with the illegal dinero that they don't care what business their husbands are in; and, finally corrupt police chiefs and generalisimos who are more than happy in giving directions or giving rides to desert "coyotes" to help them get around the [border guards] across the border.So, in the end one must ask: what's the point of this movie? It neither educates or entertains. Those two elements usually result in one conclusion: boredom. Over 2 hours of predictable snail-paced plots about things people have already seen on countless episodes of Miami Vice, Cops, and Law and Order, to name a few. This movie was made twenty years too late! As a matter of fact; since these problems were already manifest in the 60s, maybe it was made 40 years too late. Save your money and time: rent it if you must. It may interest you if you have no clue as to drug related crimes or drug culture. As I've said though, any person with with a minimal education will find this movie to be a dull rehash of an old story.
Rating: 
Summary: Re-inventing the human touch
Review: I don't really know why people insist that the film is about drug trade! I think the film is about humans and their hopes and defects: A very powerful man with no weapon to protect his daughter, a nouveau-rich hot shot who is suddenly in jail, a spoon fed beauty running for money and a superb policeman hoping to provide something for the childhood. The way the film has been "woven" is pretty rare in the new films (it looks like the well-made movies we use to see in the 60's and 70s), and the hazy impression of a fine movie by its humanity (and not graphic) may remind us that Hollywood is still in good shape. A salute to Michael Douglas for taking one step back offering the axial role for Benicio Del Toro: I don't think that anyone else could represent the 3rd world pure and simple man looking for fairness as he did. The characters and the stories of the movie could make at least 3 successful movies; this is in case you would not consider the amazing shooting on Mexico, who could be considered as a masterpiece on its own and a fourth successful movie. It doesn't really matter what is your interest in movies, whether it is the gender, the directors, the stars or simply the entertainment; you should see the movie and considered as a reference (it will make you very picky).
Rating:
Summary: Criterion does it AGAIN.
Review: Can Criterion make a bad DVD? Probably not. These folks are constantly making the best DVD's on the market, and their treatment of Traffic is nothing short of amazing. If you own the single disc release, time to update. Three commentary tracks, 25 deleted scenes, an awesome multi-angle feature and so much more...Criterion are the kings of DVD releases. A must own for fans of the film and also for DVD fanatics.
Rating:
Summary: I've seen better film on teeth
Review: Hands down this the worst movie I have ever seen, long boring, I fell asleep 6 times. I wanted to leave before the end, but my wife wanted to ride this lemon out. A terrible film, a terrible waste of talent, I have seen better film on teeth. If you want or need a nap, then by all means, watch this lousy unbearable tedious lemon of a movie.
Rating:
Summary: Mesmerizing
Review: OK, I'm sorry, that's a seriously cliched word, but how else am I supposed to describe a movie where I didn't even NOTICE the passage of time until almost the two-hour mark? There's a lot of elements at work here, but let me talk about the top three that make it so great: 1) The cast. Give me Don Cheadle, Miguel Ferrer, and Benicio del Toro in the same movie and I want to see it. Throw in Dennis Quaid, Michael Douglas, and Luis Guzman and I am SO there (OK so I missed this in theatres and just discovered it on DVD). I'm not familiar with Erika Christensen's work, but she is spot-on as the druggie daughter-- even if I would have preferred that her daddy throw her spoiled brat ass in jail a la Martin Sheen/Charlie Sheen (and DON'T get on my case about addiction-is-a-disease, because the way the film portrayed her was that she just didn't give a damn; I didn't see any suffering there). And Topher Grace??? "That 70's Show" TOPHER GRACE????? DAMN, that kid has a future-- Soderburgh showed exceptional insight in casting him, as it would have been soooo much easier (and predictable) to show the guy who gets the drug czar's daughter hooked on drugs as some low-life scumbag, instead of Mr. clean-cut boy-next-door. Nice. Catherine Zeta-Jones; I haven't seen most of her films, but she is a dynamic presence here-- probably the strongest pregnant female character since Frances McDormand in FARGO, and as loathsome and self-serving as McDormand was admirable. Benicio del Toro's Oscar was well-deserved-- imagine giving an award to an actor for just playing a human being! No heavy make-up, no tics, no dramatic speeches-- just plain HONESTY. Astonishing. I could go on, but suffice to say there isn't a weak performance in the entire cast. My only beef? I would have loved to see Javier and Wakefield meet-- they could learn so much from one another. 2) The script. A great cast without a great script is a "box movie." You know, the ones that run ads showing the cast in little boxes at the bottom, a la the 70s disaster movies? (credit Roger Ebert). TRAFFIC is most definitely NOT a "box movie." I didn't see a manifesto on the evils of drug use, or the failure of the war on drugs, or any kind of MESSAGE writ large-- I saw intelligent characters who interact with one another and make choices and mistakes and keep the viewer involved with them AS PEOPLE, not as pawns in a morality play. Another well-deserved Oscar to writer Stephen Gaghan; without this script, it WOULD have been a box movie-- albeit one with funny colors. Which brings me to the third element: 3) The look. For this I credit not only Soderburgh, but the editors, cinematographers, art directors...all of those who contributed to the unique look of this film. From the shaky camera to the washed-out yellows in the Mexico sequences to the cold blues of the Douglas/Christensen sequences, the LOOK of the film enhances everything that is done and said without seeming pretentious or obvious. I don't know if I've been able to convey how well all of the elements combine to make such an eminently watchable film.Take whatever stance you want on the U.S. drug policy-- this film is more concerned with telling its stories. You can't get more watchable than that.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic
Review: The only thing I can really say about this movie is... WATCH IT!! It is phenominal. I am not going to break the movie down bit by bit and tell you why it is good, and what was great artistically. Just watch the movie if you haven't already, and if you have, watch it again. One of the best films, if not the best film, of 2001
Rating:
Summary: Drug life
Review: The movie shows how big of impact drugs are to everyone from the people who sells them, use them and fighting against them. It really showed me the reality of it and how serious it could get. For anyone who havent seen it yet go see it now.
Rating:
Summary: This film got the new millennium off with a BANG!
Review: A highly melodramatic and involved story, coupled with flawless performances, makes "Traffic" one of the best films ever! Benicio Del Toro may have won the Oscar but Catherine Zeta-Jones is memorable as the housewife forced to take over her drug lord husband's (Steven Bauer) empire. Her transformation from the innocent and most pregnant spouse to "godmother" is stunning. She may have won this year for "Chicago" but she deserved one for Soderberg's triumph. The film's "look" is also one of its drawing cards. Filmed in documentary-style, it makes the viewer feel as if he/she is watching an episode of a reality series, as well as a motion picture.
Rating:
Summary: Hands down, the best movie of 2000 and one of my fave films
Review: Wow. I wasn't expecting much going in...and to say that I was shocked by how good, gritty and altogether REAL this movie was is an understatement. I was absoulutely FLOORED by this film. There is not one bad performance in the entire movie. Not one. Everything in this movie, every word, every action, every shot makes sense. And while there are three stories (one of which is told from two perspectives) in this film, all three flow together masterfully to make for one large, honest, gritty, and sometimes disturbing film. This is probably the most honest movie about the drug problem in america that I have ever seen, and having family and friends that have had to deal with these exact demons, I appreciated this movie's honesty all the more. What really hammers the movie home however, is the resoulution of the plot and the ending (and final scene in the film to be exact). Simply one of the most powerful films I have seen in forever. Don't watch this movie if you're expecting a simply entertaining film. This is a movie that will make you think, that will question your sense of right and wrong. But if you love movies that are thought provoking, well acted, and don't insult your intelligence and actually leave an impression upon you when the credits roll, you must see this movie. My absoulutely highest recommendation.
Rating:
Summary: Among the best of 2000
Review: The story line is simple, yet the beauty with which the movie treats the individual creates possibly the most compelling depiction of drug users (except Requiem for a Dream) in motion picture history. As far as the multiple stories in the movie go, those of Caroline Wakefield, a drug czar's daughter, are the most frightening and realistic. Javier Rodriguez, played to perfection by Del Toro, is the sole "good guy" on the Mexican side in the war against drugs; but his help to the DEA in catching drug kingpins only "makes him feel like a traitor." This line sums up the movie: the fight against drugs takes so many faces that any attempt to wipe out the menace is futile. The last scene, of the ballpark, is one of the greatest moments in cinema; the surrealist vision of hope, set expertly to Brian Eno music, relates a sense that all is not lost. A truly great movie and cinematic experience.
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