Since 1992
Print and digital marketing
Sicario: Day of the Soldado
(Columbia Pictures/Black Label Media)
By Lucas Allen
The 2015 film “Sicario” was a gritty, hard-hitting look on the war on drugs between the U.S. army and the Mexican cartels from the perspective of a CIA agent (Emily Blunt). Though she’s absent from this sequel, “Sicario: Day of the Soldado” manages to dig deeper into this bleak, unhappy world you don’t normally watch up close. With the first film’s visionary director Denis Villeneuve also absent, writer Taylor Sheridan once again crafts a smart and suspenseful script with a niche for the grim and the gratuitous.
A terrorist attack in Kansas City by Islamic extremists is linked back to Mexican cartels responsible for smuggling those through the border. The US task force led by Matt Graver (Josh Brolin) is soon put on a top secret mission to have some of the cartels wage war with each other. Graver then brings in his personal Sicario (or hitman) Alejandro (Benicio Del Toro) who’s still haunted by the deaths of his wife and daughter in the hands of a drug lord. Their mission is to kidnap one of the drug lord’s daughter Isabel (Isabela Moner) and create enough tension to pit the cartels against each other.
But a shootout with the Mexican police puts the entire mission south and Isabel on the run. Alejandro makes the daunting choice of protecting her and bringing her to the border. This puts him at odds with Graver, who’s ordered by his superior (Catherine Keener) to wipe everything away by any means.
Despite a difference in the creative team, the sequel maintains the first film’s tone while working in a style all its own. There’s a little more color in the palette in many of the day and night scenes. Be aware that the movie isn’t afraid to go to the darkest places, so the added color seems to balance out the grittiness. It’s interesting to see the desert scenes being more appealing to the eyes than the first film did.
The story is certainly timely enough to get viewers to debate on its overall themes. We get a little more character development about Alejandro and his past, which makes his relationship with Isabel more believable. The shootout scenes are intense, while there’s a good amount of suspense that adds to the intensity. Every important element makes it enough to turn what would’ve been an average sequel into an above-average one.
The returning two actors each deliver great moments in acting. Del Toro brings out the gruff exterior and knack for taking on the brutality. In a summer that includes “Avengers: Infinity War” and “Deadpool 2,” Brolin completes his trilogy of amazing performances this year that is both satisfying and amazing. The rest of the supporting cast are all pretty good though they’re obviously overshadowed by the two leads.
This summer may be full of sequels, but “Sicario: Day of the Soldado” should still interest enough serious movie fans to give it a try. Those who enjoyed the first film will likely be happy with the sequel moving both the story and characters further than ever. In every way, this is an unexpected surprise.
THE MOVIE’S RATING: R (for strong violence, bloody images, and language)
THE CRITIC’S RATING: 3.5 Stars (Out of Four)
