Sicario

Sicario is a slow-burning, intense thriller that delivers on tension but falls a bit short when it comes to depth. The story follows an idealistic FBI agent thrown into the brutal world of cartel warfare, where the lines between right and wrong blur fast. The setup is great, and the film builds tension well, but the lack of depth in the cartel, who are the driving force behind the protagonist’s struggles, makes it hard to fully invest in the stakes. While some might appreciate the detached, shadowy approach to the villains, it left me feeling disconnected from the mission itself. Denis Villeneuve’s direction is top-notch, making every scene feel deliberate and atmospheric. The cinematography, led by Roger Deakins, is absolutely stunning, using light, shadow, and vast landscapes to create a haunting visual experience. The action sequences are raw and realistic, with a standout border crossing scene that might be one of the best in modern thrillers. The script, while solid in terms of structure, doesn’t fully flesh out the antagonists, making the conflict feel one-sided. The performances carry the film, with Emily Blunt doing a great job portraying a character out of her depth, even if her arc feels frustrating at times. Benicio del Toro is the real standout, bringing a cold, quiet intensity that dominates every scene he’s in. Josh Brolin nails his role as the laid-back but ruthless government operative, adding just the right amount of charisma. The score, composed by Jóhann Jóhannsson, is heavy and ominous, perfectly complementing the film’s mood. Overall, Sicario is technically brilliant, but its lack of depth in key areas holds it back from being truly great, for me, at least.

When a domestic mission goes quite spectacularly, if quite innovatively, wrong the enthusiastic but somewhat naive FBI agent "Kate" (Emily Blunt) is offered a chance to sign up for a team that's going to avenge things. It's to be run by "Graver" (Josh Brolin) and feature the strong, silent and enigmatic type that is "Alejandro" (Benicio Del Toro). She doesn't much like the look of him, indeed she finds the whole operation a bit dodgy but off to El Paso they go to try to stop the war against the increasingly well armed and successful drug cartels. Their objective is not to tinker with the mechanics of these operations, but to identify the kingpins and remove them from the board. What she (and we) soon realise is that this is one of those missions far more clandestine than it is lawful. Plenty of rules are stretched, ignored or just downright broken as their team must fight with the weapons of the enemy if they are to have any chance of tracking down their primary target - "Manuel Díaz" (Bernardo Saracino). What she also comes to realise quite quickly is that she is not fully briefed, indeed she is being drip fed information in a fashion that frequently drives her to want to throw in the towel. She prevails, though, and as the plot unravels we are all exposed to a ruthless, efficient and internecine network that is easily a match for it's theoretically better armed and informed pursuers. It's also at this stage that we appreciate that "Alejandro" does have his own agenda, and woe betides anyone who gets between him and his self-appointed task. Though Brolin is really neither here nor there here, this features a strong effort from Blunt as "Kate" comes to terms with some fairly profound challenges to her morals and principles. Del Toro doesn't have too much to say, but again he delivers well in his usual less-is-more style. Little dialogue just a menacing style of characterisation that you just know is only on her side until, well, he might not be. It hits the ground running and takes care to establish characters that are plausible, if not especially likeable, whilst showing us what might be as true an assessment of the war for control of the billion dollar narcotics industry as we'll have seen on a big screen.

Great cast performances! <em>'Sicario'</em> has a lot going in its favour, for example the cinematography and the sound design, but it is those onscreen that elevate this release up for me. Emily Blunt is excellent, Josh Brolin is very good himself. Benicio del Toro is, though, the strongest performer in my opinion, I thoroughly enjoyed watching him portray Alejandro. Elsewhere, neat to have Jon Bernthal involved, Daniel Kaluuya too. I will say that the film didn't totally enthrall me as much as I was anticipating/hoping it would, but that's not to take away from the fact that this is an entertaining movie and one that is definitely worth a watch. Looking forward to seeing what the sequels hold.

**A good kind of mystery** A security operation through which a large number of corpses are explored reveals that there is a cartel war rising on the horizon, but in a hidden way, and ends with the formation of a team to eliminate the cartel in Mexico and target the big heads. The film focuses on the points of view of 3 people in the direction of the case, the first is Kate, a beginner who follows the laws strictly and considers that the mission is a moral responsibility, the second is Alejandro as Benicio Del Toro, who is experienced with mysterious intentions, and the third is Silvio (asiliano Maxim Hernandez), the Mexican policeman on his mission own. All of these personalities have their own side, who pulls the other into his world, and who is the correct point of view among them. The film focuses on questions and personalities, not events, in order to reach the Mexican cartel. Each character has a special direction to reach the goal, and this makes their opposing ideas cause a sharp collision between order and chaos, and between formulas that allow bad action and the fine line between good and evil. The film's opposing characters gave the film a mystery and made us wonder what exactly is happening and why it is implemented in this way. Then we quickly get to know the characters, but they are opposite through their actions and reactions. With these details, the director and writer were able to communicate their point of view to the viewer, and it was three things: how and when does information reach the viewer How do they hide this information, how do they benefit from this concealment, and finally how is tension built. Are Kate right or Matt and Alejandro right? Those who made Kate a marginalized role, so why did they choose her from the beginning until she abused her reactions, as if they were deliberately provoking her? We see the words of Matt and Alejandro and their side conversations, as well as their planning and movements with the mission and Kate, and we do not know what is happening, but when the information reached us, it reached us without value, as if they were taking advantage of Kate's ignorance and her presence for goals, but she is in the first place These targets are unknown. These vague goals are considered a problem in the subtraction, because when the viewer is not aware of what is happening, the matter becomes blurry and the events are considered vague, but Kate, since she is the character, has the same problem as the viewer, so she became a source of strength and is the basis of the course of the movie. It was wonderful when you see a mystery of this kind.

Still a fantastic crime suspense-thriller featuring great performances but one better than Benicio Del Toro who should have gotten an Oscar nomination for that role, not to mention the direction from Denis Villeneuve. As always Roger Deakins's cinematography was brilliant. **4.75/5**

Not since the opening farmhouse scene from _Inglourious Barsteds_ have I seen such masterful control of palpable tension. _Final rating: ★★★½ - I strongly recommend you make the time._

'Sicario' was a really good action film. The acting all around was very good (in particularly Emily Blunt). The set pieces were very well made. ★★★½

An stereotypical plot with, somehow, some interesting addition. The plot is not superb but the script is really good, Del Toro makes a good performance and, as alway, a great pleasure to watch any movie with Emily Blunt on it. Great performance. The directing is also really good and the soundtrack is remarkable, creating quite an atmosphere. Finally, the action scenes are very well done, with a sense of contempt. No fireworks here, just something that can be the closest to reality.

> One of the finest movie about the raids on cartel gangs. This was really a great film. Fighting against the drug trafficking was the theme. The story of an FBI agent who was recruited to work in an elite force that no one knows its existence. Their's aim is to tackle the main source, instead to deal with its lower order. Something that impossible to do without international cooperation. Every raid is done in secretively, sometime if required at any cost in whatever effort to stop it. Like I said, this was an awesome movie, and good to see it after the documentary like 'Cartel Land'. The story is kind of hard to detail it out, because it was more an action movie than the talking. How a special force unit goes after the bad guys and stops them is the main plot. But the characters were so distinctive, every main roles had their own agenda for what they are doing and that's how the narration dominated with the high standards. The cast who played them were simply outstanding, including that starts with Emily Blunt, who is someone looks changed the attitude to play physically challenging roles after 'Edge of Tomorrow'. And then Josh Brolin and another one, an upcoming young British actor who I really don't know, but Benicio Del Toro was actually the show stealer. His part was unexpectedly great, totally raw and aggressive. Especially the his end scene, no one could have guessed it, but that's how the way it is. No doubt any top actors would have denied to perform that, anyway well shot with minimum violence, but the intention was very clear as fighting against the dark forces to cut off the head first. One of the best movie of the year, so definitely recommended if you're interested. 8½/10