Traffik (2018) Review
"Just give me the phone, ok? They will kill you."
-Cara
Traffik follows reporter, Brea (Paula Patton), who gets taken away on a a romantic trip by her boyfriend John (Omar Epps) to a beautiful house in the middle of nowhere. On their way to the house, they run into some trouble with a group of bikers, who are part of a human trafficking ring. One of the girls who is being trafficked slips a phone with information on the ring into Brea's purse. Brea and John soon find some surprise guests at the house...not just their friends Darren (Laz Alonso) and Malia (Roselyn Sanchez), but the bikers, who have come back for their phone, and will kill anyone who gets in their way.
What Works:
This section will be short, as the only thing I like about this movie is the story. I typically like this kind of movie. Home invasion movies can be really fun, and with the bad guys having a clear motivation there was some potential here. Plus the fear Brea has to face of being trafficked herself is disturbing, especially knowing that this is all too real. It's a good story, that had tons of potential. Unfortunately, the filmmakers did virtually everything wrong.
What Sucks:
Ugh, where to start. I guess the most important thing is our protagonist, Brea. I've seen Paula Patton in other movies and she's totally fine, but here she is horrendous. She makes poor decisions, I don't understand her character, her acting is poor, and I don't really care about her. None of these are qualities I want in a protagonist.
But it's not just Paula Patton, the whole cast is pretty lackluster. Omar Epps is probably the best, but he just comes off really bland. Laz Alonzo is insufferable. And for whatever reason, the filmmakers thought it would be a good idea to cast Missy Pyle as the town sheriff. I didn't believe a word that came out of her mouth. I've seen good performances from all of these actors, so that leads me to believe that the director, Deon Taylor, is to blame.
Moving on the the technical aspects, this movie comes off as really cheap. It feels almost like a porno sometimes and I don't think that's the style you should be going for when your moving is about human trafficking. The editing choices are bizarre. A few of them come off as stylish, but most of them are just baffling or nonsensical. It also feels like there were important establishing shots left on the cutting room for, so the final film feels like a puzzle that is missing a few pieces. The cinematography is also pretty rough at some points.
Verdict:
The general story of this movie had potential, but it was executed in the worst possible way. Poor writing, acting, cinematography, editing, and direction. The movie came off as cheap and I find in, frankly, an insult to the subject manner. Human trafficking is a huge issue, and if this is the movie we're going to get about trafficking, that's pretty disappointing.
2/10: This Sucks
What Works:
This section will be short, as the only thing I like about this movie is the story. I typically like this kind of movie. Home invasion movies can be really fun, and with the bad guys having a clear motivation there was some potential here. Plus the fear Brea has to face of being trafficked herself is disturbing, especially knowing that this is all too real. It's a good story, that had tons of potential. Unfortunately, the filmmakers did virtually everything wrong.
What Sucks:
Ugh, where to start. I guess the most important thing is our protagonist, Brea. I've seen Paula Patton in other movies and she's totally fine, but here she is horrendous. She makes poor decisions, I don't understand her character, her acting is poor, and I don't really care about her. None of these are qualities I want in a protagonist.
But it's not just Paula Patton, the whole cast is pretty lackluster. Omar Epps is probably the best, but he just comes off really bland. Laz Alonzo is insufferable. And for whatever reason, the filmmakers thought it would be a good idea to cast Missy Pyle as the town sheriff. I didn't believe a word that came out of her mouth. I've seen good performances from all of these actors, so that leads me to believe that the director, Deon Taylor, is to blame.
Moving on the the technical aspects, this movie comes off as really cheap. It feels almost like a porno sometimes and I don't think that's the style you should be going for when your moving is about human trafficking. The editing choices are bizarre. A few of them come off as stylish, but most of them are just baffling or nonsensical. It also feels like there were important establishing shots left on the cutting room for, so the final film feels like a puzzle that is missing a few pieces. The cinematography is also pretty rough at some points.
Verdict:
The general story of this movie had potential, but it was executed in the worst possible way. Poor writing, acting, cinematography, editing, and direction. The movie came off as cheap and I find in, frankly, an insult to the subject manner. Human trafficking is a huge issue, and if this is the movie we're going to get about trafficking, that's pretty disappointing.
2/10: This Sucks
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