Traffic

Name: Traffic
Genre: Drama, Thriller, Crime
Released: December 27, 2000
Duration: 147 min
Rating: 86
Cast: Benicio Del Toro, Michael Douglas

2000

METASCORE

Universal acclaim based on 34 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Universal acclaim based on 336 Ratings

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8.7

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8.7	Your Score
8.7	User Score Universal acclaim based on 336 Ratings

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Traffic

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Movie Details & Credits

USA Films | Release Date: December 27, 2000 | R

Starring: Benicio Del Toro, Michael Douglas

Summary: Traffic evokes the high stakes and high risks of the drug trade, as seen through a series of interrelated stories, some of which are highly personal and some of which are filled with intrigue and danger. (USA Films)

Director: Steven Soderbergh

Genre(s): Drama, Thriller, Crime

Rating: R

Runtime: 147 min

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

100

Edward Guthmann

Explosive entertainment, with the tension and volatility of its subject matter. Read full review

100

Sean Axmaker

There's not a smarter, more demanding American film from the past year. Read full review

100

Steven Rea

A flat-out electrifying experience. Read full review

Stephen Holden

May be the first Hollywood movie since Robert Altman's "Nashville" to infuse epic cinematic form with jittery new rhythms and a fresh, acid- washed palette. Read full review

Jay Carr

It's the best drug-busting movie since ''The French Connection.'' Read full review

David Sterritt

The picture's thoughtfulness and ambition make it unusually suspenseful, gripping, and disturbing. Read full review

David Edelstein

You could get high on this movie's technique, dizzy on its storytelling. Yet it's one of the most lucid bad trips ever made. Read full review

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User Reviews

BryceHoogland

Jul 9, 2012

Steven Soderbergh, the master of narrative, creates a drug, crime film the way one should be made. What

6 of 6 users found this helpful60

jon

Oct 12, 2005

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

0 of 1 users found this helpful

KevinL.

Sep 28, 2007

"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.

1 of 1 users found this helpful

Compi24

Nov 28, 2012

Easily one of the greatest ensemble pieces in cinematic history, "Traffic" represents everything that many other films have tried and failed to do - It crafts an utterly breathtaking film featuring a wide array of characters that the audience never forgets nor stops caring about.

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

NickTheCritick

Apr 18, 2022

Javier Rodriguez and Manolo Sanchez are two policemen committed to countering drug trafficking on the border between the United States and Mexico. Their leader is General Salazar, the main enemy of the drug cartels. Every day the two are tempted to appropriate part of the confiscated cargoesJavier Rodriguez and Manolo Sanchez are two policemen committed to countering drug trafficking on the border between the United States and Mexico. Their leader is General Salazar, the main enemy of the drug cartels. Every day the two are tempted to appropriate part of the confiscated cargoes and get rich. Javier is the most resistant to pressure. Meanwhile, in the United States, the judge of the Ohio Supreme Court, Robert Wakefield, is instructed by the President to coordinate effective anti-drug activity with Mexican partners. At home, however, Robert and his wife have to watch helplessly as their sixteen-year-old daughter falls into the abyss of dependence. Carlos Ayala, a trafficker full of cover-ups, risks being framed in court by an excellent witness. Steven Soderbergh does not abandon the cinema of denunciation, but this time he chooses the path of the genre film with crossed events. It makes use of the strong stage presence of a Benicio del Toro capable of expressing pain and safety together with a simple movement of the lips. One of the best Soderbergh movies.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

ryanneevman

Aug 25, 2014

This is a film where you do not have to be into drugs. Sodenbergh seems to have put a magic spell on this material, because the movie is done very well.

0 of 4 users found this helpful04

Aug 11, 2006

[***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 [***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

0 of 3 users found this helpful

SEE ALL 18 REVIEWS

7	#7 Best Movie of 2000
43	#43 Most Discussed Movie of 2000
32	#32 Most Shared Movie of 2000