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Human Traffic
Metascore
53 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 24 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 24
  2. Mixed: 13 out of 24
  3. Negative: 3 out of 24
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  1. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Jack Mathews
    88
    Funny and masterfully inventive.
  2. Dallas Observer
    Reviewed by: Luke Y. Thompson
    80
    What it lacks in story, it makes up for with sharp dialogue and an amusing Walter Mitty-esque style.
  3. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Marc Caro
    75
    You may not want to join in their activities but you're happy to have tagged along.
    All this publication's reviews
  4. Miami Herald
    Reviewed by: Rene Rodriguez
    75
    Its lingering hangover, however, is decidedly pleasant.
    All this critic's reviews
  5. Philadelphia Inquirer
    Reviewed by: Steven Rea
    75
    Fast, funny.
    All this critic's reviews
  6. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Peter Stack
    75
    This British film also mocks the rave culture it celebrates, and it's charming in a way that is hip but surprisingly down to earth.
  7. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Amy Taubin
    70
    Sweet, ribald, and even inspired in an off-the-cuff way.
  8. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: A.O. Scott
    70
    Mostly it's exhilarating.
  9. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Ken Fox
    60
    Brimming with fun and a few great ideas, it's little more than a foggy memory the minute it's over.
  10. Film.com
    Reviewed by: Gemma Files
    60
    Like memories of your latest high, it's all briefly amusing, mildly embarrassing, and - ultimately -- completely forgettable.
  11. Variety
    Reviewed by: Derek Elley
    60
    Well cast, engagingly played and directed with a stylistic pedal to the metal, Human Traffic is a lot of energy adding up to very little.
  12. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    50
    They are, in fact, likable. That's why their comedy is so sad.
  13. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Jonathan Foreman
    50
    Though it contains some very funny, cleverly written comic sketches, Human Traffic shares with other drug movies the problem that watching other people on drugs is not interesting.
    All this critic's reviews
  14. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Jay Carr
    50
    'Trainspotting'' Lite.
    All this critic's reviews
  15. Austin Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Marc Savlov
    50
    It's a 24-hour-party-people travelogue, entertaining enough to grab your eyes... but less memorable than it may at first appear.
  16. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Owen Gleiberman
    50
    The movie is too cute to lose its head in the music. It never generates its own ecstasy.
  17. Seattle Post-Intelligencer
    Reviewed by: Sean Axmaker
    50
    A bubbly, high-spirited paean to the joys of pharmaceutical phun that grooves to a throbbing beat but constantly trips over flat, prosaic dialogue and literal, lifeless sight gags.
  18. Film.com
    Reviewed by: Ernest Hardy
    50
    Stripped of the pretension of the overrated "Trainspotting," but it's also void of the earlier film's ambition or glimmers of real cultural insight.
  19. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Alona Wartofsky
    50
    Wildly uneven--inventive and clever moments are interspersed with dull and predictable ones.
  20. L.A. Weekly
    Reviewed by: Steven Mikulan
    40
    Turns into a driving soundtrack accompanied by a film.
  21. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Kevin Thomas
    40
    There's an underlying emptiness to Human Traffic and it's difficult to say for sure whether Kerrigan fully acknowledges it.
  22. USA Today
    Reviewed by: Staff [Not Credited]
    38
    Someone has seen "Trainspotting" too many times, and it's writer/director Justin Kerrigan.
    All this critic's reviews
  23. Mr. Showbiz
    Reviewed by: Kevin Maynard
    35
    So desperate to be rebellious and cool, that it's impossible to see it as anything more than one big case of "been there, done that" -- even if your drugs have already kicked in.
    All this critic's reviews
  24. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Desson Thomson
    20
    I'd rather sit in bumper-to-bumper hell on I-495 for two hours than get caught in Traffic again.
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User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
8.9 out of 10

Universal acclaim- based on 20 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 12
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 12
  3. Negative: 1 out of 12
  1. RoryP.
    2
    Could everyone stop talking about trainspotting! I think such a ploy detracts from criticizing what is essentially a bad bad movie, one with its head firmly up its own arse. To be a bit more controversial, this film is a silly movie with a silly message, aimed directly at the market of pill popping 'hipsters' the characters attempt to emulate, (and do quite well in some ways.) It all feels like slimy propaganda, an attempt to justify the nightmarish existence of working a soul sucking 9-5 job by escaping into drug induced euphoria at the weekend. THEY think they have found that excuse in a film that, to be fair, does manufacture a fair bit of vibrancy in its production values, its writing and its acting (John Simms, you rock!). THEY secretly close their eyes and hope they have found the holy grail of excuses in this film. Unfortunately, they haven't. Its all quite shallow and empty actually, just like the lifestyle is espouses. Yes. quite controversial.… Full Review »
  2. TomN.
    9
    This must be one of the most underrated films I've seen on Metacritic. The reviewers must have been judging it against Trainspotting alone. Firstly, Trainspotting is about junkies and the mess that H and drugs will get you in, whereas Human Traffic is about the average weekend of a British pill popping punter. Secondly, Trainspotting is depressing where Human Traffic is uplifting (one of the best films to watch on a comedown). So check it out and forget the preconceptions!… Full Review »
  3. JaydeeL.
    10
    I love this movie cant get enough of it. Its actually my favourite movie. Nice one brotha!
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