Human Traffic (UK)

Strongly recommended to me by a friend, I was looking forward to a light-hearted and sharply observant comedy. I was sorely disappointed though, because Human Traffic is neither funny or accurate.

It certainly seems pleased with itself though, scene after scene of self-indulgent amateur dramatics and some thoroughly out of place speeches to camera (embarrasing!). The entire project is like a badly written play. Their is no story to speak of, no twists, no intrigue, no likeable characters either.

This was released around the same time as Go!, and marketed in a similar way. I was surprised at how good that film was because it was smart and well produced. So I guess it was kind of inevitable that this movie would be a let-down. you can sense a lot of effort, but it`s futile without the vision or direction necessary to make a film work. Anyone who has seen "Legs Akimbo" from The League of Gentlemen could easily make comparisons with these young performers, as they deal with "issues" too!.

The sort of people that would enjoy this film are those who say things like "What was all that about?" after watching Gone in 60 seconds (Too densely plotted!). Possibly a bit harsh, as my friend and I regularly argue about this one and he couldn`t disagree more. His main comment is always along the lines of "It`s just like real-life". It isn`t of course and outside of drama class, this is as fake as you can get.

On the plus side, it`s flashily directed with a good anamorphic transfer, quality soundmix and well presented menus. Basically though, it`s mis-represented from the outset. It isn`t a film at all, it`s just like an overlong performance by enthusiastic (but talentless) students.

I`ve never reviewed a DVD before, I don`t like imparting my views upon people, we should all be able to make up our own minds. But having read the narrow-minded reviews on this page, I think this film deserves to have someone say something good about it. In a word, Fantastic. The soundtrack is superb, the comedy is excellent, the characters are genuinely wonderful and wonderfully genuine. A great film, perhaps not one that everyone will enjoy, but if you`re less than 40 and have ever been out of the house, then watch it. You`ll like it. The Star Wars revelation (I hate Star Wars and had little idea what they were talking about) is an absolute joy to behold. Light-hearted, not particuarly involving, but thoroughly entertaining and extremely enjoyable.

This film was well and truly accurate! (Well maybe other than the blag into the club!)

The buildup to the night out , the night out itself and talking s*** to strangers at a party afterwards!

The mad thing is it is similar to the way me and my missus met!!!!! Knowing each other for ages but one night getting together haveing a laugh then staying together!!!

The soundtrack is spot on, you only have to look at the sountrack participants like Orbital, Underworld to see it is not your average cheese dance soundtrack.

The extras are well presented (if a little small in the boxes on screen) and the interviews are good and give an insight into the way in which the film was put together and the time it took.

99% of clubbers will like it and relate to it and the way it is set up.

Jip is like me (with a bit of moff aswell) and lulu is my missus!

Well worth shelling out the cash for.

This film is by no means the masterpiece that some people have hailed it as, but equally it isn’t all that bad either. I like the basis for the film – the living-for-the-weekend type culture, but this is by no means as thought provoking as it may sound. What this film is though, is an amusing look at club culture, with an absolutely brilliant soundtrack.

The video transfer is pretty good, as is the DD 5.1 audio. The extras are a little disappointing… there are some interviews with the main cast and the director, which are interesting, but not worth more than a once-over. And then there are the usual filmographies, trailer and TV spots, which are nice to have on the disc and everything but it could have had a bit more. What is worth mentioning are the menus, not the most important feature of course, but they are rather good.

All in all, I really did like this film, mainly because of the soundtrack, but there are some great comedy moments in this, and John Simm gives excellent in it. Having said that, this clearly is not for everyone.