MovieChat Forums > Traffic (2004) Discussion > Rent Traffic (the movie) instead....

Rent Traffic (the movie) instead....

posted 20 years ago by aaronwa-1
10 replies | jump to latest

First, let me start off by saying that Traffic (the movie) w/Michael Douglas, Benecio del Toro, etc. is one of my favorite movies of all time. It truely captures the seedy underworld that IS drug trafficing.

This mini-series is NOTHING like the movie. The plot is VERY weak, the character development is almost non-existent, and I'm left with no feelings whatsoever for any of the characters. I caught myself falling asleep at least a half-dozen times on the first night...not due to lack of action, but due to the fact that I just don't CARE about any of the characters and their situations.

Secondly, the locations for parts of the story are supposed to take place in Seattle and 'Northwest Washington'. I *LIVE* in Seattle, and I can't for the life of me picture any of the areas depicted there as actually being in Washington State. The scene on the first night in the mini-mart had an RBC (Royal Bank of Canada) ATM machine, and the lottery sign at the counter is consistent with the B.C. Lottery, not Washington State lottery. It is quite obvious to me that it was filmed in British Columbia, Canada. For goodness sake....if they're going to make a convincing story that takes place in a well-known urban area, they might as well film at least a few scenes there to convince the locals!!

Do yourself a favor and rent the movie instead.

[–] testamp 20 years ago

Man. Tough crowd!

I thought it was great... loved the action, the twists, the characters.

[–] embo-1 20 years ago

I agree completely with your comments about the characters -- even with the falling asleep on night one (and now, night two)!

what made both the original series and the movie so good was the whole theme of people who thought they knew right from wrong encountering situations and places and people where the lines suddenly got blurred. There was a lot of moral pain and doubt in these versions.

But the current USA version runs about as deep as a dime. McKay, the DEA agent, acts like a Mideast Rambo, giving nary a clue about any moral quandary or even gray-line difficulty he might be feeling on the inside about his duplicity, etc. If it turns out he's running opium and all this just to trap Fazal, etc. (in other words, turns out to be a "ggod" guy) -- well, I'll just howl.

Another character, Ben, ends up saddled with his father's outrageous Mob debts and worries over how he'll make good. Yet, after digging into the mobster Cho's business affairs, we see Ben make Cho an offer to handle all his accounts. Again, he doesn't even begin to break out in even a minor moral sweat.

The script also lacks some grounding in character reality, in the way real people think, react, respond to situations. Again the Ben character: Supposedly in dire debt to the mob, he NEVER EVEN CONSIDERS selling his high-price sports car -- thought that's certainly one of the first things a real person in real mad debt would do. Heck, the car probably survives just so the dumb-ass acriptwriter can have a so-so scene where the Cho mob guy burns it as a warning. It's just completely unreal.

Mrs. McKay is another major problem. The actress is hardly inept, so it must be the direction that has her acting so flat in certain scenes. For instance, when she learns that her husband has basically disappeared in Afghanistan indefinitely, she (suppposedly in deep love with him) accepts the news with the same calm as though someone had told her the family cat had passed a fur ball. Again, completely unreal.

The only decent characters are the McKay son and his misadventures with his horny neighbor, and perhaps some of what the Chechnyan Adam goes through as he unravels the mystery of the downed boat full of immigrants.

It seems to be boiling down to this: A whole lot of traffic in many things illegal, with no real point to any of it beyond a surface exploration.

As though we needed any more of THAT . . .

[–] LVanceJr 20 years ago

The movie was great and so was the mini series. It wasn't suppose to be the exact same as the movie people.

[–] RosenKratz 20 years ago

Yeah - tough critics in here. I was pretty impressed with the mini-series, especialyl as it was made for cable tv.

I thought the plot was interesting, and I liked how they worked in the arms/human trafficking and the new govt policy stuff since Sept 11, makes it way more then just a re-hash of the movie or the first mini-series.

To each their own I guess

[–] xFAM0USx 20 years ago

I actually liked it,and yes it was supposed to be different than the movie,cliff curtis did a good job.overall i rate the movie a 8,and the series a 7.

Watch "24"! Tue 9pm/8c
http://www.fox.com/24/

[–] RulesofAttraction18 20 years ago

yes the movie was 10 times better than the mini-series, but i still enjoyed the show

"Whoever saves one life, saves the world entire"

[–] timmy_a 19 years ago

Comparing the mini-series Traffic to the movie Traffic is like comparing Seinfeld to Saving Private Ryan, they're 2 completely different things.

[–] benderp_lanc 17 years ago

Coparing Traffics:

Well, obviously the new miniseries has the same name, thus inviting comparions.

Watch the original Traffik, then the movie, and save this for last.

[–] MartinP666 16 years ago

I liked this one better, Soderberg's movie was boring.

[–] boogles 14 years ago

It wasn't up to the standard of the movie I agree. It was a different interpretation of the story. However the best version is the British original mini series!!