Traffic - The Miniseries (The Director's Cut)

Rating:
Summary: A Really Engaging, Entertaining Movie!
Review: I bought the DVD without having seen this mini-series, just based on the previous theatrical film, Traffic and was really impressed by this latest installment. I was kind of skeptical, based on the lack of any really big name stars, but after watching it, I have to say that Elias Koteas, Cliff Curtis and the rest did a really fantastic job. Really keeps you on the edge of your seat, waiting to see what happens next. Also, if you enjoy the series, "24", you will really, really like this show. Definitely worth checking out and buying if you really enjoy adding a great movie to your collection.

Rating:
Summary: A Story for Our Time
Review: The original version was done by the Brits in 1990. Titled "Traffik" - it concerned the herion trade from Pakistan and its impact on life in Great Britain. It's a fascinating story with major characters in three distinct locations: Britian, Hamburg, and Pakistan. The characters of these three story-arcs interconnect and intertwine as the devastation of drug use and the futility of the drug war are laid bare.

If the story seems familiar, Steven Soderbergh retold it in his feature film "Traffic" in 1991. While shifting the locale to America, changing the drug to crack/cocaine and moving the source to Mexico, Soderbergh's version retains the essential elements of the British original:

A high ranking gov't official charged with fighting illegal drugs, his struggle as the problem hits close to home, the upscale wife of an arrested major drug dealer who steps into the drug trade to maintain her family's lifestyle, the local cops doing their best in the drug war, and the locals of the third world country - the source of the drugs - caught up in the dangerous business in their efforts to merely survive.

Now, 13 years later, USA network has updated the story yet again for the post-9/11 world. And a magnificent job they have done. While Soderbergh was content to do a straight remake, this newest version resets and recasts the characters and locations while only retaining the basic bullet-points of the plot. As dark, moody, and despairing as the original, the newest "Traffic" hits the mark.

I watched it as it ran on USA some months back and decided it would be a "must-buy" when it came out on DVD. To see that we will be getting a "director's cut" - well, that's just icing on an already delicious cake.

If your tastes run toward the gritty crime genre - Homicide:LotS / The Wire / French Connection / Prime Suspect - and you don't mind a little pessimism in your entertainment - you definitely want this latest telling of a story of our time.

Rating:
Summary: Where's the BEEF
Review: They leave you wondering what happens next! OK, I'll buy the next DVD, but where is it so I know how this ends. I feel like I got ripped off after 2 hours and it is just the teaser for the miniseries. I wait until 24 is finished in a season and watch the whole thing over a weekend: but I don't miss anything and I get the ending! What are we to do, chaulk this up to bad PR?

Rating:
Summary: Ripoff!!! only parts 1 and 2 on this disc!!!!!!!!
Review: When you see the phrases "Director's Cut" and "New Twist Ending", you expect to see the whole story.
But this deceiving DVD doesn't mention anywhere in the box that IT ONLY INCLUDES PART 1 AND PART 2!!!!!!!!
It's an unfinished story!!!!!
They should wait to have the whole story before selling this DVD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I mean, don't get me wrong, It's a great story. In fact, it's so interesting that it's disappointing not to be able to watch the ending.
This miniseries deserves 5 Stars, but my disappointment makes me give it 1 Star.