Traffic (2000)

The movie is about the war on drugs between the United States and Mexico. Mexico is the major supplier and the drug cartel is controlled by 2 major gangs in the city of Tijuana – the Obregon brothers and the Juarez cartel.

Javier and Manolo are 2 cops in Mexico who are involved in nabbing the drug traffickers. General Salazar secretly works for the Juarez cartel and he uses these 2 cops for his purposes. The DEA is later informed by Javier about Salazar’s involvement in the drug cartel and the general is packed off to prison. Manolo is unfortunately killed by the General’s men after Manolo thinks of informing the DEA. 

Meanwhile, Judge Robert Wakefield is appointed the Drug Czar in the US and he takes a lot of proactive steps to control the situation. But, his daughter Caroline herself is a drug addict. The judge has to keep track of her as well as handle the situation on a country level.  

Ray and Montel are 2 cops who work in the US and they keep a watch on drug dealer Eduardo Ruiz to get hold of the big shots who are involved. One such Carlos Ayala is arrested and Ruiz agrees to testify against him. Helena is the pregnant wife of Carl and she takes all possible steps to free her husband and she succeeds in the end. Ruiz is killed just before he goes to testify.

The judge understands that this war is too tough to tackle on a macro level when his own near and dear ones are involved.

Hits

• Multilayered, many characters and seamlessly integrated. Very complex yet gripping stuff
• The issue that is being addressed is very critical and the movie is highly detailed.
• The camera is very jerky and symbolizes the chaos on the streets of Mexico.
• The ensemble cast is terrific be it Michael Douglas as the high profile judge who has many problems to tackle, Don Cheadle as the strong bald cop who handles Ruiz, Benicio Del Toro as the honest Mexican cop, the hugely voluptuous Catherine Zeta Jones as the pregnant wife who goes to any lengths to save her husband etc. All the other characters like cop Manolo, drug addicts Seth and Caroline, cop Ray and Eduardo Ruiz are very realistically performed.

Comments

• Salma Hayek has the most minuscule role possible.

VERDICT

A critical issue beautifully addressed by Steven Soderbergh. One of the landmark movies on the war against drugs. 

Iron Man 2 (2010)

Whats it about:
The film starts off with Tony Stark reviving the Stark expo, to showcase the best inventions from around the world. He is also having trouble with the element palladium that is keeping him alive. His blood toxicity is too high. The Govt is also against the Iron Man suits saying that many duplicates can come up in other countries, which can post a grave danger. But Stark shrugs it off.
    Then comes Ivan Vanko with his dangerous technology based on drones and he poses a major threat to Stark. Vanko is on a personal vendetta mission. Hammer technologies' boss and Stark's business rival, Justin Hammer recruits Vanko to build something that can put Stark in the shade.
    In the meanwhile, Stark and his buddy Colonel Rhodes have a minor disagreement regarding the Iron Man suits and Rhodes escapes with one of the suits.
    Finally Colonel Fury and his SHIELD team help Stark counter the palladium problem. Stark sees one of his father's old videos and gets an idea for the future. He invents a new element to counter his troubles and succeeds big time.
   In the end Vanko's army of drones take on the Iron Man and his side kick, Colonel Rhodes in another Iron Man suit, and are wiped off totally. Hammer is also put in prison for putting the country in danger with his involvement with Vanko.
    The movie ends with Pepper Potts and Stark smooching and also a premise for another sequel is shown

                                                                         
Hits

• As usual Robert Downey Jr. is a style icon. This role is another cakewalk for the charming hero
• The technology, the visual effects and the production values are out of the world, as usual. The artificial intelligence at Stark's disposal is unbelievably advanced and awe inspiring. 
• Gwyneth Paltrow and Scarlett Johansson are the 2 leading ladies. Both have contrasting roles and are a pleasing sight to the eyes. Gwyneth is her cute self and Scarlett gets to show some action moves too. 
• Don Cheadle is a replacement in this version, as Colonel Rhodes. He has a couple of good lines
• Mickey Rourke as the brooding and macho Vanko is imposing as usual. 
• Sam Rockwell as Hammer excels in some scenes. But the scope of his role is limited. 

Misses

• Too much slam bang and not much finesse, particularly in the last 30 mins. Just a showcase of some mind blowing visual effects. 

VERDICT

Another movie that boasts of the best technical values, a huge star cast and great production standards. Watchable once.