Sicario (2015)

Sicario has the bones of a good crime thriller, but in the hands of a director as talented as Villeneuve, Sicario becomes a meditation about America's role in the drug war and a contemplation on what fighting monsters does to the human psyche. Roger Deakins lives up to the standard he has set for himself, framing the environment our protagonist finds herself in as foreign and frightening, yet somehow still reminded us of home stateside. A tense stand-off near the border is a particular standout. Emily Blunt gives perhaps the performance of her stellar and perpetually underrated career as Kate, a conduit for the audience in the story but also the manifestion of dignity and ethical conviction in a world that doesn't leave room for much of either. Josh Brolin is having a blast playing the swarmy and self assured Matt, while Benecio del Toro imbues Alejandro with a mysterious and tough exterior that shrouds personal tradegy. The script is one that withholds any clear moral standing for the audience, and the viewer is left in a constant state of bewilderment as to who can be trusted and if everyone's stated intentions are true. By the end, you'll be without answers, only left to reckon with what you've seen on the screen, and what it means for your country and it's efforts in a destructive and perhaps futile drug war. Sicario combines great acting, confident direction, impressive camera work, a remarkable soundtrack, and a expertly woven script to make a film for the ages.

When I first saw this movie in theaters with my dad and brother, I had no expectations and no idea what kind of movie this was going to be. I had heard a few good things about it before going in but really didn't know anything about it other than it had a few big name actors in it. I walked out of Sicario with my eyes having been opened to an aspect of filmmaking I had previously not considered: sound. Composer Jóhann Jóhannsson completely enveloped me with his soundtrack for this film, bringing the already taut emotions in this movie to new heights. Written by Taylor Sheridan, considered to be one of the hottest new screenwriters in Hollywood, Sicario follows the story of straight-laced FBI Agent Kate Macer, played by actress Emily Blunt, as she is chosen for a joint government operative team tasked with bringing order to the chaos that are the Mexican drug cartels. The audience follows Kate down the dark rabbit hole of clandestine operations and gray moral areas as she tries to bring the leaders of the murderous cartel to justice while still operating within the bounds of the law. Operating comfortably outside of such boundaries are CIA Operative Matt Graver and Mercenary Alejandro played by Josh Brolin and Benicio Del Toro respectively. Both actors steal every scene they are in, playing their roles with a deceptive and dangerous charm. Del Toro specifically steals the spotlight from those sharing a scene with him, finding that perfect balance between cold, calculating killer, and a hurting man seeking vengeance on those who decapitated his wife and threw his daughter into a vat of acid. Director Denis Villeneuve showed me once again why I consider him to be one of our best modern-day directors and one of my personal favorites, breaking down this film to its very color scheme and utilizing color to help him tell the narrative given to him. The audience is also treated to one of the more satisfying endings to a film in recent memory with Alejandro completing a part of his mission of revenge against the cartel in a swift, brutal, yet justified way that helps to bring his arc in this film to a close. It is not very often one comes across a film they would consider to be close, if not, perfection, and I can say confidently that Sicario is one such movie for me.

This is an extremely boring movie. All the characters are 2 dimensional, and unlikeable. What a waste.

As an amateur viewer so do not bury me with you cinema knowledge for that.I saw this film and i really liked that. In my personal point of view the best part of the movie is Del Toro acting. Beautiful , real and disciplined acting by Del Toro. His acting and movements so professional and classy. Cinematography is perfect. Sound edit way perfect than it looks. Most important thing is camera movement, Smooth .Simple and Enough , No camera on hand and run like crazy unlike the Hollywood movies these days. (Damn that camera on hands are headaches.)There is just 1 minor problem in storytelling . I think the script needed to be saturated some more about the drug cartels and their operations.And there is 1 big problem and that is Emily Blunt and Daniel Kaluuya acting. Blunt is flimsy and heavy , very much filled with fake and made-up confusing looks. She is so much unreal that you will ask during the whole movie : Why she is here ?! If you want to get to a cartel leader then you should know there is no written procedures for this type of operations. And if you do not like it , then why you and Kaluuya are here ? You cannot pretend to want some maniac Druglord badly and yet behave like you don't know what these Druglords look like and question everything and demand everyone their intents plus their reasons and if she does not like those she threaten to walk. No body forces her and his mate to join for this kind of operations.Overall , this is very well made movie with a very good acting and story.