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| B- B- B- | |
| Review by Xibo | Date seen: February 16, 2001 |
| Viewing Location: NYC | Grade: B- |
| Summary: Lengthy movie about nothing new. | |
| Hollywood is against the "war on drugs", but they don't want to portray drug lords in a good light, but they don't want to say drugs are bad, but... well you get the idea. The movie is likewise very confused in its message. We see the after-school special high school teenager falling into a bad crowd and boinking johns for drugs... but it's okay because she gets therapy. We see the new drug czar give up in disgust because his own family is a wreck. He accomplishes nothing. We see a local mexican supercop do great things, but ultimately accomplishing nothing but getting his junior partner killed. Benicio Del Toro gives an excellent performance here as the supercop; it's the only good thing in the movie. And there's also some FBI agents that miserably accomplish not very much either.
After three hours, the drug lords are still in power, some cops are dead, the director is telling us the war on drugs is hopeless so we shouldn't fight it, and that while drugs are bad, it's okay to sell sex for drugs as long as you're underage and an A student, because hey, therapy. What a stupid piece of shit plot! Good parts... Del Toro, and the interesting direction and camera effects. | |
| A+ A+ A+ | |
| Review by hughjtoad | Date seen: February 26, 2001 |
| Viewing Location: San Francisco, CA | Grade: A+ |
| Summary: Makes Gladiator look like a used kleenex. | |
| This movie shows what a really good director with a good cast can do. It makes Gladiator look liked a used kleenex by comparison. The three separate storylines are all photographed in different colors, and they are all great. Benicio Del Toro in particular is just excellent. Don Cheadle and Luiz Guzman are also excellent as cops. | |
| C- C- C- | |
| Review by Orion | Date seen: June 11, 2001 |
| Viewing Location: Orion's Bedroom | Grade: C- |
| Summary: Another movie that tries to tell you something, but due to trying so hard, fails | |
| This movie basically wanders all over the map. You have mexican cops who try to do the right thing but in the end just get duped by some guy. But that's ok, becuase he gets his in the end. But only at a terrible price. Outside of Mexico, we have two cops who bust some guy, but his wife turns all mercenary and felonious and shit and becomes a drug lord to save him. But they'll get theirs, because the good cop won't let them get away with it. Then we have the politician family with the Drug Czar. He's really important, and his daughter does drugs. They're dysfunctional, and she fucks a lot of people for smack and blow. Basically, the movie just says 'hey, drugs'. Not drugs are bad, not drugs are good, just 'hey, drugs'. Bleh. It's a goddamn documentary with characters no one can care about doing things that don't matter. | |
"I should put quotes here."