Film Review: Sicario, 2015
Sicario is a 2015 American action thriller film directed by Denis Villeneuve, written by Taylor Sheridan and starring Emily Blunt, Benicio del Toro, and Josh Brolin. The film follows a principled FBI agent who is enlisted by a government task force to bring down the leader of a powerful and brutal Mexican drug cartel.
After rising through the ranks of her male-dominated profession, idealistic FBI agent Kate Macer (Emily Blunt) receives a top assignment. Recruited by mysterious government official Matt Graver (Josh Brolin), Kate joins a task force for the escalating war against drugs. Led by the intense and shadowy Alejandro (Benicio Del Toro), the team travels back-and-forth across the U.S.-Mexican border, using one cartel boss (Bernardo Saracino) to flush out a bigger one (Julio Cesar Cedillo).
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 92% based on 280 reviews, with an average rating of 8.10/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "Led by outstanding work from Emily Blunt and Benicio del Toro, Sicario is a taut, tightly wound thriller with much more on its mind than attention-getting set pieces."
It is one of those thriller movies that has you at the edge of your seat, not because of paranormal activity or because of some fictional serial killer but because of real institutional cartel behavior surrounding murder and drugs.
The movie brings to life the risks involved in living in areas with high crime like Juarez where citizens are brutally dismembered and displayed as a warning not to speak out against the leading cartels. The movie also shows the ongoing U.S. effort to keep the drug trade under control. With the premise being based on reality, the movie is certainly an unsettling experience.
An IGN review by Witney Seibold explains how the original Sicario was hard-edged and dark, concerned with the way violence can erode the soul, and whether or not a soul is even needed in the complex world of ever-increasing criminal enterprise at the Mexican border.
One prominent scene is when the team enters Mexico to extradite an important cartel member. The intensity in the scene showing the American agents entering Juarez is very intense and really shows the contrast between America and Mexico as the camera pans to show the convoy travel across the border. The soundtrack also almost belongs in a horror movie and will add to the drama of a scene keeping you at the edge of your seat.
Everything from the cinematography to the audio work together to keep the audience in suspense. Overall a great film, and one highly recommended for anyone into true crime or crime thrillers.
A sequel, Sicario: Day of the Soldado was released in the United States on June 29, 2018 to generally positive reviews. While still a good film, the second movie is not as memorable as the original. A third film, titled Sicario: Capos, was announced prior to the second film, and is currently in development. Sicario: Day of the Soldado producer Trent Luckinbill exclusively tells Screen Rant that audiences can "absolutely" expect Sicario 3 to happen.
