Review of Cargo (2011) by Michael C — 18 May 2013

I have seen many films where the plot holes in movies are something that can be overlooked, but this one simply is too far from the acceptable parameters for it to be something that is enjoyable. In fact, it makes the film somewhat irritating to watch. I'll outline these in a list to make my point clear:

1. The scene where she hits Sayed over the head and seems to be able to escape is honestly where the story should have ended. Why? She hit him over the head with a toilet cover. The blunt force trauma alone would be enough to make anyone be incapacitated, if not dead. Furthermore, the driver of the car who just drives around the obviously battered woman with the man chasing her down is not something I imagine would happen in real life. If anything, the driver would have called the police and gave a detailed description of both of them and the van.

2. When the van topples over, no driver seems to take notice or care.

3. After the van topples over, Natasha, bloodied and bruised is walking along the interstate and no one stops to assist her. I again find it difficult to believe that no one would stop or even call the highway patrol to inform them there is a bloodied and bruised woman limping along the interstate.

4. When the man who finally does assist (after Sayed regains consciousness and drugs her) puts Natasha into his truck, Sayed knocks him out and takes the truck... with many passersby as eye witnesses. Further to that, here comes plot hole #5:

5. The driver of the truck would have immediately called the police to report what happened, and would have been able to give a complete description of both along with his truck and the license plate number as well as the direction they are going. As I assume they are traveling on the 95, the highway patrol would have noticed this truck and stopped them within 10-20 minutes. Yet, they are still able to get all the way onto the NYC beltway without so much as a sneeze in their general direction.

I can only assume the director and writers were trying to make a statement about apathy and how this plays into human trafficking. However, there are simply too many moments in this movie where you will raise your arms in the air in disbelief to make it enjoyable. I will credit the acting of Natasha Rinis and Sayed Badreya for remarkable performances though.