Good but not great

Rating: 1/10 (19 March 2006)

Crash was a good movie that struck a nerve not only with people that live in Los Angeles, but with people I know from the military as well. The movie was a lot like "Traffic" in how it took a controversial subject, car jacking and violence, and spread it along 4 or 5 different stories that directly and indirectly intertwine with each other. Each is done well and then the movie abruptly ends after 1 hour and 50 minutes. This left me feeling a little shortchanged because none of the stories lead anywhere. One hour and fifty minutes just isn't long enough to properly develop 5 different stories. Heck it sometimes isn't enough for one. "Traffic" is a similar movie (about drugs and violence instead of carjacking) but is superior because its 2 1/2 hours long and properly develops the stories. I'd normally give "Crash" about a 7 but I'm giving it a 1 while giving "Traffic" a 10 because I feel the ratings should be reversed (Crash has a 8.2 while Traffic has a 7.8). A good movie but one of worst best picture winners in recent memory.