Popular reviews

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  Review by Sean ★★★½ 2

  Me: Hey Soderbergh, can you take it easy with all the yellow?

  Soderbergh: Ok, here's some blue.

  Me: Uhh...

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  Review by matt lynch ★★★ 6

  This is as formally ambitious as ever but seems more crushingly naive and reductive with each passing year.

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  Review by doinkdedoink ★★★★

  benicio del toro in this movie.. well mark me down as scared and horny

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  Review by Ethan Ethan ★★

  Yes, Steven Andrew Soderbergh, yellow is the color of Mexico and blue is the color of American government.

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  Review by Darren Carver-Balsiger ★★★½ 4

  Contrary to popular belief, the War on Drugs has been a colossal success. Yes, it has failed to reduce the number of drug users, it has increased the power of criminal organisations, and it has lasted far longer than ever imagined. However the purpose of the War on Drugs was to target a disenfranchised segment of the population to gain political capital and distract from wider issues. By this metric, it has been a complete success for politicians in the USA. How successful has it been? Well in 2021, two politicians whose careers were predicated on their tough-on-crime stances were sworn in as President and Vice President to cheers from progressive activists. To these politicians, it doesn't matter how many…

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  Review by Justin Peterson ★★★★ 5

  Criterion Collection Spine #151

  Director Steven Soderbergh gives a look into the US and Mexico Drug War of the 90s in this large cast stylistic epic.

  "If there is a war on drugs, then many of our family members are the enemy. And I don't know how you wage war on your own family."

  Drugs are bad!

  Drugs can help you relax, make you rich, get you arrested, or kill you!

  Why is Mexico yellow in this movie Mr. Soderbergh? I guess the overexposed/saturated scenes show the drug war on the front lines, while the rest of the film that represents the behind the scenes view on the war on drugs as a standard color palette. Also there is a…

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  Review by Michael James ★★★★

  An ambitious and powerful crime drama from Steven Soderbergh which explores the illegal drug trade via three interconnected stories from various tangible perspectives in users, traffickers, enforcers and politicians. With an ensemble cast, the well written narrative and characters are given the much needed amplification. Their grayness and untrustworthiness keeps the guessing game live throughout. The lightings, highly saturated visuals, hand held cinematography and documentary style treatment makes it all the more absorbing and gripping. Though it gets draggy and melodramatic at places, it’s a solid drama with both style and substance. Recommended.

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  Review by Rafael "Parker!!" Jovine ★★★★ 5

  This was one of those rare instances where I came across this movie at my local video rental store because the title and cover appealed to me, so we rented it and watched it together. Unfortunately, I wasn't old enough to understand what it meant or care about it, so I only remember the whole color thing and the one-two punch Soderbergh pulled at the Oscars by being nominated for this and Erin Brockovich the same year in the same category.

  As an epic of sorts about the world and the war on drugs, I can see where the politics lie, and I understand where they are coming from, but I don't quite agree with them. Nevertheless, the acting was…

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  Review by Mathias Larsen ★★★

  Jesus Christ forgot how insane the color saturation in this is! Whenever they’re in Mexico it feels like I’m staring directly at the fucking sun. 

  Decent watch tho..

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  Review by Josh Gillam ★★★★½ 3

  An ensemble cast including Michael Douglas, Benicio del Toro and Catherine Zeta-Jones star in Steven Soderbergh’s crime drama, which follows three interconnected stories about people caught up in the drug trade.

  It’s a very powerful film, and manages to get its points across in a way that doesn’t feel preachy, crafting a compelling series of intertwining stories that are excellently put together. Soderbergh shoots everything documentary-style, which adds to the gritty tone and makes it feel much more naturalistic.

  Despite the length, I found it really absorbing, and the cast do a brilliant job of bringing the film to life. Del Toro gave the standout performance as a dedicated Mexican policeman, and deservedly won an Oscar for his turn.

  While it does verge on melodrama at times, and could have had more focus on each story, Traffic is a gripping drama with both style and substance.

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  Review by Erik 🎼 ★★★★½

  steven soderbergh is too powerful. he can do literally anything he wants.
  engaging male stripper film? yeah. glossy pharmaceutical drama thriller? bring it on. fever dream redneck heist? great. coked up 1800s medical drama? absolutely. i feel like if i walked up to him and tried to punch him he would glance at my hand and all my muscle tissue would fly off revealing a disgruntled yet mellow Don Cheadle

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  Review by Mike D'Angelo ★★★★ 5

  72/100

  [originally written on my blog]

  Previously reviewed at reasonably decent length for Time Out New York, right after it swept the NYFCC awards (without my help; I didn't become a member until the following year) and before a considerable backlash set in. My sense is that a lot of folks have turned on this movie, especially since it now sort of looks like a proto-Crash; if we revoted the 2000 Skandies Best Picture race today, I strongly suspect it would drop from 5th out of the top 20 altogether. (No Soderbergh film has placed since.) But while its treatment of the drug war is unquestionably shallow, and its rhythms essentially televisual, Traffic crackles and growls and sparks in a…