Rating: 
Summary: Simply Wonderful
Review: I wanted to see this film on opening day. It's been a while since then, but I finally got around to seeing it. It's one of the best films I've seen in a long time. The three storylines came together almost seamlessly, creating an epic film of the war on drugs. The great camera work added an edge to the film; it helped put you "there". The different locales each had different hues, also a nice touch. Benicio Del Toro was also magnificent. The best part of the movie, however, is the one storyline involving the teenage girl. The harsh reality of drug addiction is displayed here in incedible realism. High-class teens are the target here, as told by one of the kids in the film. He couldn't be more right. Watch the film and you'll understand.The references to the school and locations in Cincinnati are true-to-life as well...just a nice little extra for those of us who live around here. Great film. That's all I can say...
Rating: 
Summary: Shocking because it's just another movie about cops & drugs
Review: Easily the most overrated film of this year, TRAFFIC is just another movie with a made-for-tv plot. Obviously, there's a bunch of people who think they're really "liberal" for liking this film, but the movie doesn't go far enough. Soderbergh, a hack who was simply hired to direct the film, has no ideas on drug politics and hence his silence on such issues. To add further insult, he even allowed the Drug Enforcement Agency to re-write certain scenes in order to gain access to certain locations on which he filmed. What more, the film doesn't address the fact that the war on drugs is really a war against poor people. The effects that drugs have had on Black and Latino communities are ignored while the film shows us that it only becomes an issue when it affects the White suburban kids. The films weakest part involves Michael Douglas (the biggest hypocrite who was doing plenty of coke with Nicholson back in the glory days when he could get away with cheating on wife) and his daughter who becomes addicted to heroin. In addition, it wants us to believe that marijuana leads to harder drug abuse. This is the type of thing (Reefer Madness anyone?) that has been dismissed for a few decades now. Legalization? Not even discussed in the film. To add to the films dubious nature, there are several cameos from politicians. Do we need politicians trying to play movie star? Let's vote these creeps out of office if there going to be hypocrites about the drug issue. Just because the film may touch on a few truths, in the end it's an extrememly conservative film. All the bad guys are Mexicans, all the good (or morally disturbed) characters are the Americans and the rich should look out for themselves while we leave it to the minorities to fight it out amongst themselves. That's the film in a nutshell. Don't let the media fool you. I didn't even get to the fact that the film is logically incoherent... or to the bad acting of Catherine Zeta-Jones... boy, is this one bad movie.
Rating:
Summary: Not that kind of movie
Review: First off, this was one of the best movies I have seen in years. And to few people who were disappointed with the lack of action and how explosion sound weren't at full force, not every movie involves Sylvester Stallone running through the streets of NYC with a bomb strapped to his back while taking out ninjas with a machine gun. Some movies have a thing called a PLOT. Some movies are meant for people who think above a 6th grade level. Don't get me wrong, I pray the running-bomb-ninja idea becomes a movie, but don't get mad because this isn't it. Oh yeah, great dialogue, acting, camera work, Catherine Zeta-Jones is actually GOOD, blah blah blah, etc.
Rating:
Summary: Really that Good!
Review: Easily the best movie of the year, Traffic exemplifies the art of a movie. Weaving three complicated, taut stories dealing with the drugs was ambitious and almost flawlessly done. Superb acting and incredible editing make this movie so much better than say a Clear and Present Danger type of movie. I love the low-grade film and the different hues used for each story. The only negative and it is a small one is that each story evolves rather slowly. It didn't distract from the power and incredible screenplay. $7.00 well spent!!
Rating:
Summary: A Flawless Film
Review: "For a kid my age, it's a lot easier to get drugs than alcohol." One of the most poignant and powerful lines in a movie in recent years belongs to a young teenager in Traffic. This quote addresses the very hopelessness of the drug problem between the U.S. and Mexico, which is ingeniously illustrated in Steven Soderberg's real-life epic. This film beautifully demonstrates the aforementioned problem from four different points of view. There's the U.S. high-office officials, in charge of drug policy represented by Michael Douglass and his family, the U.S. middle-class law enforcement (Luis Miguel, Don Chedle), the Mexican law enforcement (Benecio Del Toro) and the rich top-of-the-drug-chain suburbanites (Catherine Zeta Jones). Each segment is filmed in it's own different style; the scenes in Mexico all have a dirty, yellow, grainy look to imply Mexico as the bottom rung of the drug ladder, while the scenes filmed in Washington D.C. have a cool, steel-blue tint, possibly to suggest a sterile, drug-free environment. The film is meticulously assembled to convey just how hopeless the drug situation is, and that no matter how much money we spend, or how many policies we adopt, there will always be illegal drug running. The acting is astonishing, as every performance is nailed to perfection. The film is technically effective, as most of the scenes were filmed with a hand-held camera by Soderberg himself, giving the film a semi-documentary feel. This film is a perfect illustration of the problems faced by the U.S. and Mexico in regards to the illegal drug trade, and how bleak the future looks for getting the problem resolved. However, by the end, the movie also illustrates that at least some of the battles can be won, if not the war.
Rating: 
Summary: OVER-RATED
Review: Yeah--this movie was OK. That's why I gave it 3 stars. But it is NOT as great as the critics are making it out to be. This movie won the Best Picture award from the New York Film Critics??? (I say incredulously.) Well, considering this was a weak year for films.... There's 3 stories going on at the same time: 2 of them are VERY WEAK; the other one is halfway decent. The weak stories are the Ohio and San Diego stories. The halfway decent one is the Mexico story. The Ohio Story -- As usual Michael Douglas plays a pompous jerk. What else is new? Oh yeah--and there's more unoriginal stuff. An honor student who comes from an affluent background becomes a crack addict. What else is new?? Don't we all know already that rich white kids are becoming drug addicts? If you don't then may I suggest you read the daily newspapers. The San Diego Story -- Drug kingpin does not tell his wife about his drug dealings. (Reminescent of the Pacino and Keaton characters in the Godfather trilogy. What else is new?) She doesn't find out about it until it's too late--when her son may get killed. The main problem I had with this story is the Zeta-Jones chacracter. One minute she is bringing lemonade to the undercover cops and the next minute she is in Mexico, asking a hitman to kill a key witness in her husband's trial. Talk about a quick transformation! I did not find this plausible at all. The Mexico Story -- If the screenwriter had any sense, he would've just focused on this story for the entire movie because it was the only one without cliches and unoriginal subject themes. That's it. That's why I thought this movie was over-rated and just OK. I can't believe the glowing reviews here. That's why I felt compelled to write mine. It's amazing how critics can brainwash the sheep.
Rating:
Summary: Don't Waste your money!!
Review: This movie was the worst movie I have seen in quite some time. I expected much more with the great cast of charactors. During the entire movie, the scenes were jumping back and forth from one part of the world to another. The camera scenes were continually jerky and very destracting, along with poor color. The plot was the generic drug cartel theme with no real excitement or action. I alomost left the movie theater but I kept thinking the movie would improve. It did'nt!! It was a real dissapointment and waste of money.
Rating:
Summary: C'est Fantastic!
Review: I thought this movie was incredible. It was so deep and powerful and just amazing. It's the kind of movie that leaves you thinking about it for days. The cast was awesome, I especially thought Topher Grace (Seth) did an excellent job. The different plots interwined beautifully and the hand-held camera work was the perfect touch. This is definitely one of my favorite movies.
Rating:
Summary: Not the DVD, just the film.
Review: Ok, I work in a movie store so I get the chance to see alot of good and bad movies. Some of my favorites include, American Beauty, Gladiator, Dogma, Animal House, American History X (just a sample). So I feel that I have a good judgement over good films. Well last night I checked out Traffic, with my manager and another co-worker. I really disliked this movie. With such and all-star cast delievering a less than mediocre performance, it reminded me of The Thin Red Line. The camera work in it was really bad, with the exceptions of a few key angles and shots. The camera's shakiness takes away from the key elements of the film. And the sound on this movie was horrible. For one, right when you do get interested in the film (about 1:30 into it) a car explosion is silenced with a slow-motion shot. C'mon lemme here that thing explode. And when a point comes in the movie to where one of our main characters is getting honored, they seemed not to have known what to write for him to say, and cut it out with a pleasant melody. If people in the movie industry have to resort to paying for actors instead of quality, I say give me no name actors who love the trait that they do.
Rating:
Summary: waste of time and money
Review: the only sense that could be made of this movie was it is about drugs ten minutes into the movie you need some to sit through this film
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