Bill I’s Review – 3 out of 5
Reminiscent of the movie Traffic, this is a tale of surfer dude/drug kingpins having their Laguna paradise bubble burst by a dose of Mexico cartel reality. Shades of Tarantino when you see the great Travolta as a corrupt, scheming, sleazy DEA agent, and the wonderful Salma Hayek as the ruthless, but motherly, cartel leader. Blake Lively is excellent as the muse and key to the menage a trois with the surfer/dealers, who are very believable and fun to watch. Benecio del Toro is Salma’s captain gone wild, and kills the role; he should get a best supporting actor nomination. Some brutal scenes of violence but it moves fast and holds your interest. Nothing groundbreaking here, but a good summer action movie.
Bill C’s Review – 3 out of 5
Overall I agree with Bill’s review and assessment of the performances. In addition to the good performances there were some good plot twists and it kept you guessing to the very end. I was disappointed with the ending as Oliver Stone manipulated the audience down the stretch and the final ending seemed to be a bit of a cop out.
For those looking for additional drug related movies in addition to Traffic (Benicio Del Toro was in that one too!) and Breaking Bad (TV) here’s a list of some guys top 10 drug related movies.