This was a movie made for the purpose of making a movie. There was no real catch for the audience. It should have been aired on the sundance channel not at theaters. Who really wants to pay all that money to go to a theatre and fall asleep watching a long, and lame, version of "cops"?

What the hell is going on here? How this movie won all those awards and got amazing reviews is beyond me. This movie was so slow and bland that it makes watching paint dry interesting. I'd rather go fishing (which I hate) then watch this movie again. This movie must have put people in a hypnotical trance for it to receive anything higher then a 4.

It creates a force of reality, and hurts your heart to watch it,it's one of the best films of the year, and it becoms a revolution.

Viscerally unyielding. It flat out hammered me. It kept me interested and off kilter the whole time, and Benicio Del Toro is FABULOUS in it.

Viscerally unyielding. It flat out hammered me. It kept me interested and off kilter the whole time, and Benicio Del Toro is FABULOUS in it.

This movie drained me a little. But I'm not exactly sure that's a bad thing. It also required a lot more concentration than I had expected. And I'm not so sure that's bad, either. It most definitely isn't a movie you can pop in every Saturday for a good time. But it's worthwhile and made very well. As an aside, I would say that Don Cheadle is a close personal friend of mine, but it isn't true, and nobody would believe me anyway. But dang, does this guys show up for the big ones! He always seems to surface and thrive in movies overflowing with A-List actors. Traffic is no exception.… Expand

A study of the futile war against drugs that demands the viewers full attention and offers no easy answers. Rivals Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Dancer In The Dark as one of the best films to come out since the turn of the millennium.

This comprehensive examination of an international drug traffic situation has the authenticity of a documentary and the gripping breadth of perspective of a classic epic. The character development is a little sparse.

Very intelligent movie, great actors, interesting story!

This film made some good points. But did it have to be so heavy handed? And the ending - daddy's little girl is saved from the big black men? And the colouring; are we so stupid as to not to be able to tell the three threads of the movie apart? And Catherine Zeta-Jones ? the transformation (almost as difficult as little Welsh girl to Hollywood princess)? In the end, an enjoyable but emotionally dishonest move that reminded me of the propaganda films we got in school. Why can?t Hollywood make a Trainspotting? Oh, I forgot, their senses are deadened by the drugs.… Expand

This is an amazing film, but to be interested in it have to have a passion for the drug conflict in the first place. This is not a propaganda film as one person said, it is a film that explores the various perspectives and problems in the "war against drugs". The movie is designed to make you think, a rarity in big hollywood films. Great character development, too. The mood and attitude of the movie follow Douglas' character's development beautifully. I cannot recommend this movie to everyone, because it could bore anyone who doesn't find the drug conflict interesting, but if you pay attention you might get something out of it.… Expand

Simply one of the best movies ever made.

[***SPOILERS***] This terribly pandering piece of cinematography is redeemable only for the scene in which the film's drug czar concludes that one can't wage a war on drugs without waging war on one's own family and friends. Everything else about this film was dull and unimaginative, clearly designed as filler for this ultimate message that is nearly lost is the sea of meaningless drivel that surrounds it.… Expand

"Brilliant" As much as there are many of its kind out there, the writers continue to make this film as entertaining and masterful. This film just creates so much tension and absorbs the viewers in.

A fabulously told story that is out of today's headlines. Benicio Del Torro gives a riveting performance as a Tijuana cop who refuses to be on the take. This one you can watch more than once. Soderbergh's best film to date.

My personal favorite for the year. I went two days in a row. This film was made for the sake of filmmaking and is done very well. Benicio Del Toro deserved the Golden Globe and deserves the Oscar.

I did not actually think too much of this movie. It had it's good points though. What I can not understand is why a movie like this gets an 87 and Requiem for a Dream only gets a 76? I saw Requiem for a Dream, and I think it is or is close to the best Drama drug movie I have ever seen. It is also the only one with a refrigerator puppeteer.

Cuh. I dunno, you make a stunning, complex ensemble drama, you throw in some fine performances, mix it with wonderful cinematography and directorial flair, and the public still hates you. I though the colouring was great; a neat way of helping us tell three (totally unconnected) stories apart, which, looking at some of these posts, it seems some needed. I'm not sure about the "Big Evil Black Men" thing either, though; one for Gaghan to answer for. And I don't care if you hate fishing.… Expand

I consider myself to be an intelligent person, and I love all types of movies. I watched this one 3 times on video and I really have no idea what it was about. I got the general point of the movie, that was easy to follow, but the details were lost on me.

There's an edgy docudrama style effected by handheld camera and from certain passages shot in grainy images, but the visual texture is more a matter of style than substance; more a refined recycling of established conventions than fresh cinematic vocabulary. While the panoromic stories tying together the high and low of drug dealers and law enforcers make for gripping drama and interesting political/cultural survey, Sodernbergh ultimately leans on sensationalistic cliches, and worse, tired plot resolutions as the film reaches its climax. The generally uplifting endings to story threads are pure Hollywood and lack conviction in plausibility. Some of the plot developments are far-fetched(such as Zeta Jones becoming a queenpin overnight) and some of the relational dynamic are obvious in their irony(honor student freebasing heroin and who happens to be the daughter of the drug czar!!). Worse, everyone makes speeches, and to preempt this criticism Sodernbergh even has one character ask another "Is this the Larry King show?" Ultimately, with the story of beautiful Zeta Jones making ruthlessly effective deals and preserving her glamorous lifestyle, the movie unwittingly glorifies drug money just as Gordon Gekko's dazzling smoothness did more for than against greed in Wall Street. Sadly, this movie was overpraised by many for the same reason as Do the Right Thing; its IMPORTANT subject matter earned it A for effort. … Expand

The ultimate anti-drug. Traffic is great in every sense of the word. The 5th best film of the new millennium (behind LOTR and Finding Nemo) and the best of 2000. I'll never do drugs now. Thanks a bunch, Soderbergh.

Extremely powerful, traffic was definitely robbed at the Oscars for Best Picture.