We've wanted to see this film since folks started talking about it. It premiered in Mexico on March 20th. This review is an unabridged longer form of a review that appeared in the Boston Globe and the San Francisco Examiner in late March.
Traffic is slick.
The performances are compelling, the action non-stop, and the cinematography riveting. It captures some narco hypocrisies, like the fact that the war hasn't stopped the drug flow. Traffic doesn't discriminate against illegal drugs, but reminds us that legal drugs like tobacco, alcohol, and tranquilizers are also drugs with devastating impacts. And we can understand why so many, who have been so deeply harmed either by drugs or the war against them, are glad that the official story is finally being questioned. Not by a long shot.