I'm torn between giving this movie 3 or 4 stars. Who am i kidding, definitely not 4, but i just wanted this movie to be so much more. I am so surprised that with such a great subject matter, potential story line, amazing cinamatography and brilliant actors that this movie was not at least really good. The hype surrounding this movie is that it supposed to invoke the depth and realism of the drug trade and its many victims...all of us. But here i am watching a film that does not move me, surprise me, or enlighten me...instead it just barely entertains me.

I will try to write this without too much detail because i'm writing it before it's hit most theatres, but it definitely has details.

It starts of in "indie" mode in Mexico with the very talented and gorgeous Benici Del Toro. Let it be know that i did not attend this movie b/c of hype, but rather for Del Toro who is underrated for an actor and not so great in this movie. Hmmm. Okay, he's pretty good. Good to watch. Anyway, right away we are hit with some great direction of cinematography and can enjoy that for it's face value. The scene sets the stage for some big drug deal and so we are prepared. A few minutes later, we cut to the US and see how the other half lives. Cathering Z. Jones and her girlfriends and a cute little kid. Yeah, i'm already thinking at this point that i know where that's going and i'm right. I'm not a good guesser at plots but this was just too easy. And it continues to be easy. I feel like i'm watching the movie and hour ahead in my mind in almost every scene. I mean come ON!

Okay...Back and forth to landscapes awash in the drug trade from teens to Mexican Generals and back again, the actors cross over too, and i spend alot of time watching cars cross the border.

The acting tends to follow the weak script... "F you dad, f you". Um...please. And so i am sitting here waiting for all the crazy details to unfold in front of my naive eyes, yet nada. I've scene harder drug lords in my neighborhood. There was nothing realistic about this movie. Del Toro goes from being a state cop to spokesperson for the mexican government? Z. Jones goes from being ignorant of her husband massive drug trades within 1 day to confronting a cartel and saying she wants charge of all shipments? It was just getting sillier and sillier as time went on. The sole witness to bring down 1 out of 2 drug cartels in Mexico and the cops watching him don't check under cars for bombs, he doesn't get picked up in front of the court room, he walks back to the hotel. Even I coulda killed him. No vest, nothing. Not to mention, for convenience sake, the cops who arrested him are in charge of escorting him to and from the court house. I guess there's a police shortage in the movie. I mean the director could have at least read a book on the drug trade.

The characters didn't have time to be developed enough for me to care what happened to any of them, so at least the story could have been strong enough to alarm me, scare me, shock me or anything in between. But it wasn't.

Mike Douglas was the silliest drug czar ever. And i generally like Douglas. His acting was alright, but his character was a mess. He listens to a round table of 'experts' give him milk carton statistics on drugs, then with all this irrelevant info says "we need to take down one of the cartels". OHkay. At one point he walks out of a press statement cause he's sad. Just way too lightweight for the seriousness necessary to even contemplate a war on drugs.

The direction was interesting. Good at times, poor at times. That's really all i have to say on that. I don't think it was involved enough to warrent anymore attention. It just wasn't that interesting. Some edited was VERY POOR. Unacceptable for a high budget film, but they may have been doing it on purpose for an indie feel.

Now i saw the movie for free, i had passes for a showing before it opened and i WAS SO GLAD i did not pay $9.50 for this movie. i woulda been ticked. If you are a lady, see it for benici if you think he's hot. If you are a guy, there's probably not even enough intellect or action to make this movie worth it, but i know it's too tempting to not see it, so try to get a mattinee so you don't feel so ripped off.

Entertaining to a point, but for a movie with so much to cover it moved rather slowly and never struck a cord.

Cheers, Loren

p.s. If you wanna see a really good drug movie, see Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas. The funniest movie ever! (w/ Benici Del Toro)

Recommended: Yes