Rating: 
Summary: Propaganda for sanity--finally
Review: i am relenting in giving it only 4 stars instead of 5 just because it is so long, this movie was turned down by most of the major studios, most likely because it dissects the drug war and just like the politicians, everybody is afraid to tell it like it is. A FAILURE OF MASSIVE PROPORTIONS! i'm sure the studio heads are eating that decision 4 Academy awards and untold accolades later. Even the Drug War supporters were forced to employ their spin doctors to deflect the huge reaction caused by Traffic. BRAVO! BRAVO! for Traffic and for Soderbergh and for the brave decision of the studio to take this on. Soderbergh is a superb director and I have been following his career since "Out of Sight". This movie got people thinking and THATS what makes it so imortant and SO timely. It is also riveting from beginning to end. It amazes me so many people give this one star and have nothing but bad things to say about such a fine film. I have to ask these folks-what is your criteria for a good movie? Guys who dodge thousands of bullets and never mess up their hair? Traffic has plot holes, but guess what? So does the drug war and any plot hole highlighted in Traffic also underscores the absurdity of the Drug War. Cops DONT protect every witness and some witnesses do get whacked. Thats not a plot hole, its reality! Maybe the movie doesnt have big cars and topless women and shiny things that go BOOM! [...] HURRAY for a real movie about a real subject. Traffic isnt anti-drug, its anti-drug-war and simply portrays the facts. [...]
Rating:
Summary: Traffic? What?
Review: The film, well, is okay, and probably relatively better than any other movie released in 2000. For that 4 stars is fair I think. Soderberg used a few big names, in large and cameo roles, to give the film star power so it can sell. Those who went to see the film solely because of the "stars" deserved their so-called boredom. Films, at least good films, transcend those who are in it. It doesn't matter if Benicio Del Toro played the Latino cop or my next door neighbour Santos, just as long as the role is performed well. In Benicio's case, the performance was adequate and effective, but not electrifying. He supposed to be a bit reserved and cool in the role, and he did a good job of that. The scene where the viewer gets a "first person view" of the young white girl getting "rough treatment" by a black man was excessive and pretty much digusting. Which reflects her drug use, which is excessive and disgusting. Politically incorrect? If every time a black man is portrayed as violent and somebody gets a hernia over it, then we might as well not go to movies. It fits the film and its bleak tone. It doesn't have to be politically correct all the time. Not every detail has to fit some liberal mode of thought. If that was the case, then every studio would have a rep from the NAACP, Greenpeace, feminist groups, MAAD, the Vatician, gay and lesbian groups, and so on so as not to offend any certain view of group. Then what would movies become, a vehicle for all of these groups to put their slant on things, limiting the creativity of the writers and directors. I agree that films must meet a certain standard (langange, nudity, etc.) and should not directly offend any groups and races. But a few details, surrounding a greater lesson, should not be nitpicked at. Traffic ranks as a film of its time, not transcendent of it. One would be remissed to recall it at the end of the decade, for it will most likely be overshadowed by more impactful films (by Soderberg among others). But in a year of medicore films (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Gladiator), it was most probably one of the best just a notch below the coming-of-age Almost Famous.
Rating: 
Summary: An interesting portrayal of the drug war
Review: Even the drug warriors have something to lose in the drug war. That's the overshadowing message I've seen in this movie each time I've seen it. It's a great flick, and it carries at least a handful of powerful messages. No matter your feelings about the drug war, there's some part of this movie that will change them. Some may complain about the artsy feel of it in points, but I think that makes the movie all the more desirable.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent story, perfect casting, film of the year.
Review: I saw this movie because I'm a longtime admirer of Steven Soderbergh's work. He's probably most well known for his directing "Erin Brockovich," "Sex Lies & Videotape," and "Out Of Sight." Michael Douglas recent work in "The Game," and "The Wonder Boys" (for which he should be nominated for an Oscar) is the other reason I wanted to see this movie. ("Traffic" has been on my DVD want list for about a year now - ever since Soderbergh was rumored for involvement.)I remember reading in Premiere magazine about the struggle that this film went through finding a director, and then how the stars all wanted to be in it because of him. It's a rollercoaster of a film, full of intensity, and then quickly followed by moments where the crowd in the theater will laugh, or clap when the something happens. There aren't many moments where that happens in movies anymore. "Boogie Nights" co-stars Luis Guzmán (who also played "Chino" in "Out Of Sight") and Don Cheadle (who also played "Snoopy" in "Out Of Sight") are once again important to the greatness of this film. Their characters provide much of the humor to the film, but not taking away from it's realistic intensity. That's not done very well in movies anymore, but they both do it perfectly here. An incredible cast, without a throwaway moment in the movie. Dennis Quaid, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Benecio Del Toro, Steven Bauer, Amy Irving, Benjamin Bratt, Salma Hayak, and Erika Christensen all have very important roles, and Soderbergh blends them in, making us care about the good and bad guys. While hanging around after the film was over watching the credits and talking to the people around me who enjoyed the film as much as I did, I noticed that Flea & Herbie Hancock helped to score the film, which should also be nominated for best score. Stephen Gaghan wrote "Traffic," who has also wrote for "NYPD Blue," and "The Practice" - two shows known for their intensity and realism. He does a great job of combining several stories into one (As good as they've been done most recently in "Pulp Fiction," "Boogie Nights," and "Magnolia.")
Rating: 
Summary: Laughably Overrated
Review: Soderbergh is without doubt the most laughably overhyped director in the business right now. "Traffic" tells us absolutely nothing about the "war on drugs" that an intelligent, informed person didn't already know. Furthermore, Soderbergh's acclaimed filmmaking techniques are all essentially "borrowed" from other directors who have used the same techniques to much better effect. At it's core, "Traffic" is a completely hollow, completely commercial Hollywood-style movie which the director and studio designed to win the superlatives of the adoring critics and the Oscars committee. There's nothing artistic or creative about any of Soderbergh's work, except maybe in the most shallow sense. The cast of the upcoming "Oceans 11" gives his game away anyway: Julia Roberts, George Clooney, Brad Pitt, etc., etc.. Soderbergh's game is the same as Hollywood's - to rake in the cash. This kind of moviemaking isn't art; this is commerce and marketing, pure and simple. Hand over the cash.
Rating:
Summary: Finally, reality
Review: This is the best anti-drug movie ever made. Forget about the 'Just Say No' campaigns. They are homogenized and packaged to the point where they are ineffectual. Get this movie. Watch it with your kids. Let them know what is real and what is out there. Add Requiem for a Dream, and even you will think twice about taking an asprin.
Rating:
Summary: And this movie won Oscars??
Review: The acting was very good, I can't say nothing negative about that but the change of colors I hated them and so the story, it had very few good parts.
Rating:
Summary: awful!!!
Review: the only reason this gets 1 star is because of Benecio del Toro; hottie. (...) Michael Douglas over-acted, as usual. Wasted a good few hours of my life I'll never get back.
Rating:
Summary: Racist-homophobic trash!
Review: Del Toro picks up one of the bad guys in a club with all men where intense dance music is playing. Then that man is tortured. Then he is tricked by an assassin. Finally, he ends up dying on his feet by two different murderers. It's bad enough that the gay Latino character has to be a villain, but he is gullible and subject at anytime to abuse as well. What does this say about the filmmakers' views on gay Latinos? We already know based upon "Basic Instinct" what Michael Douglas feels about lesbians. To top it off, the scene in which a black drug dealer prostitutes a white female high school student was racist and designed to scare the white fathers in the audience. I don't care if I get dismissed as PC, this movie was trash.
Rating:
Summary: Good thing they all get ONE star...
Review: This pointless drivel nearly spoiled my whole evening. God only knows how angry I'd have been if I had gone, in my car, to a cinema to watch it, instead of renting it. And if I'd taken someone I liked????... the mind boggled. Isn't it obvious to everyone that this kind of stuff won't wash? They were still making movies about the Cold War when that great non-event was long over. Jack Lemmon once appeared in a film about "Hippies". Someone will always bring these things to us I suppose. Watching Michael Douglas burn his books like this made me want to do the Nazi salute at him. How can he agree to do such a deeply ignorant film? Is he so short of cash?
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