Traffics

Here goes an hour and a half of my life for nothing. the acting was very bad (even John Cusack's), the directing is very very bad. the story itself is not solid, and the reason for the couple to adopt is repeating itself over and over, directors have to find a new reason for couples to adopt other than that story. i think the story shows how naive this couple was, and how they got themselves in trouble, and the funny thing is they won against a very bad people, loaded with guns and criminal history. the husband doesn't look of the type who will beat a whole gang, and he looked as comfortable with the places he is in as it were his neighborhood.

I don't recommend this movie at all, very bad and a waste of time.

Human Trafficking by way of an Internet Scam "Selling" Children to Desperate, Wanting Rich Parents Trying to Avoid Red-Tape, with the Pretense of Legitimacy.

The Low-Budget Movie starts with the Devastation of a Haitian Earthquake and its Aftermath. The Orphaned Children are then Exploited as Product.

Puerto Rican Locations Highlight the Backdrop to what amounts to a Frantic Chase to "Reclaim" a Little Girl that has been "Reclaimed" by the Traffickers. It's a Battle of Brawn with very Little Wit on Both Sides.

John Cusac vs Ryan Phillippe and Rachelle Lefevre with Little Briana Roy as the "Daughter"/Package.

It's Suspenseful Enough with the Action and Acting on Par with the Production, Especially Cusac who Elevates the Proceedings in quite a Slimy Role in this Formulaic Film.

Worth a Watch for Interested Viewers but don't expect any Surprises, It does have a rather Distant Feel considering the Up Close Situation of a "Family" Torn Apart and the Urgency Involved.

Ryan Phillippe and Rachel LeFevre are a pretty well to do yuppie couple who are in Puerto Rico looking to collect a daughter they've adopted who was orphaned from the earthquake in Haiti. It's an adoption agency run by Jacki Weaver and the couple has laid down some heavy bread for their new daughter Briana Roy. Before they leave the little girl up and disappears. Phillippe and LeFevre have been good and had as police lieutenant Luis Guzman tells them.

But the kidnappers are from finished, especially after the head kidnapper John Cusack hears how rich these two are. That was their undoing, they should have cleared out and run with what they had.

Cusack is a particularly nasty piece of work, but he has a lot of problems controlling his henchman Jandres Burgos who has some real management issues. He dislikes Phillippe instantly and he dislikes each and every thing about him, looks, money, beautiful wife.

Reclaim is a film about adoption scams. God knows there's a lot of third world kids out there and a lot of childless parents like Phillippe and LeFevre who can't have children and it's a terrible heartache that real bottom feeders like Cusack and Weaver seek to exploit.

A lot of good location cinematography in Puerto Rico is featured with some nice shots of Old San Juan and the rain forest and beach. The cast is good and the climax is a thriller.

Low budget, low grade thriller which cynically pretends it is dealing with the issue of child trafficking.

In fact its just a dumb trailer with multiple endings to pad out its short running time and lack of main plot.

Steven (Ryan Phillippe) and Shannon (Rachelle Lefevre) are a couple who have received a multi million dollar payout after an automobile accident which also left her unable to have kids.

They take part in an adoption process abroad to take care of an Haitian girl which is going to cost them a lot of money. Just before the process is finalized the keep bumping into Benjamin (John Cusack) and then later realise that the girl they were hoping to adopt has disappeared and the whole adoption process was a scam. As the local police tell them, the girl was reclaimed and the scam will move on elsewhere.

However the schemers want more as they become aware that our couple have serious money so go for a big payday by kidnapping them.

The film has a flimsy plot and flimsier action and just when you thought its all over we get a literal cliffhanger and then some more.

The film actually feels longer than its short running time. It is a straight to pay TV film which has bagged a couple of well known names who perform adequately with a poor script and not very good direction. However the actress playing the adopted girl was very stiff and inanimate. If I was adopting her I would had asked for a refund.

"This scam that you're talking about might be true but it also might not be so you have to keep looking for her." Shannon (Lefevre) and Steven (Phillippe) are Americans who have traveled to another country in order to pick up the daughter they have adopted. The girl loves them instantly and the parents feel the same way. When they wake up one morning and find her gone they run to the police who tell them about a common adoption scam that is being run. The new parents decide to take it upon themselves to get her back anyway they can. This is a movie that I wasn't expecting a whole lot from but was pleasantly surprised at how much I like this. The movie was tense and gripping almost the entire time. The emotion of parents having their child taken really helps you get sucked in and you are right there with them hoping they find the girl. While it is sometimes predictable it doesn't distract from the intensity and I liked this quite a but. Overall, a gripping movie about a real problem in the world that I recommend watching. I give this a B.