Probably the best cinematography of this whole year. Roger Deakins is an absolute maestro. Music and sound combo of the movie added to the tension. Johann Johannsson's score is another exciting driving force upon which the film is carried. It was powerful. Incredible action-thriller. It was extremely dark. Not color wise, but the subject matter. Villeneuve really knows how to take the most vile subjects and turn them into intense n dark cinema. The acting was top notch especially Del Toro. He is comfortable with this sort of material and it really shows. I hav always been a fan of Brolin after no country for old men. His character was so relaxed n mean with those slip ons quiet opposite to del toro's who u slowly get to know as the movie unfolds. Del toro's character was emotionless and relentless. It is his best performance to date. The only scene i couldn't digest was the dinner scene. I turned my eyes n was shocked for few mins.
Add a Review
-
Fella_shibby31 January 2016
-
Giacomo_De_Bello24 September 2015One of those select few thrillers that will have your eyes stuck to the screen from the opening credits to the very end, and I mean that literally: I changed my sitting position many times during the film, yet I clearly recall never ever turning my head away from the film, this is how intense it is.
With this Denis Villenueve has now consolidated his name as one of most important and gifted directors of our time and has shown us he is here to stay. I truly marvel at how this film is so tightly put together and even despite it faults, which it has, especially in script, it just never gives you a chance to breathe and take it all in, thanks to the atmosphere that is established from shot one until the last one, you are always anticipating something's going to happen and that is the sign you are watching a great thriller. You are always on the edge of your seat and in some occasions you are really biting your knuckles. The movie has a way to throw you into the action that is really rare to find, especially in a highway sequence where I literally felt I was there.
All of this is achieved thanks to probably the best cinematography of this whole year. Deakins does it again, once more playing with a lot of blacks and shadows and once more succeeding one hundred percent. Also remarkable is the use of helicopter shots which don't feel like connective tissue, but actually part of the organic, that's something really hard to pull off. The sound design of this film is flat out amazing, some of the best I have truly ever had the pleasure to experience. It is so in you face, so tight, it really contributes in making you feel a part of this even in the more intimate scenes. Music too is also excellent and while some may say it was a little too ominous and dark I felt it matched the tone perfectly and enhanced some parts magnificently, contributing to a nail-biting building of tension.
Of course one couldn't get past reviewing this film without nominating the three great performances at its center. Del Toro, Brolin and Blunt are each better than the other and continue stealing the screen to themselves scene after scene. There really isn't one stand out, the three of them just excel sky high and give depth to characters that are interesting. The characters are really what holds the film together, they are truly developed three dimensionally and explored in depths that aren't normally reached.
What makes the film stumble is the fact that in never has a good enough plot to make things as interesting as they should be. It really has a hard time in setting up which way it's going and in the end it actually doesn't end up with a satisfying resolution. You are certainly left with something to think about because of the themes, the characters, the atmosphere and the intensity, but all in all the plot doesn't offer interesting turns and not enough moral questioning, unlike "Prisoners", and so remains slightly one-note for the whole duration. It also has a totally useless character in Blunt's partner, which other than never understanding why he was there or what was his arch in the film, I never understood how he was being played.
Still there is nothing short of amazing in what Villenueve achieves in two hours. What could have been a screenplay turned into a very generic police drama, is actually one of the most atmospheric and tense movies of the year. -
Top_Dawg_Critic15 May 2021Excellent directing by Villeneuve with perfect cinematography and score. The sunset tunnel approach scene should be made into a poster. The use of the filters from night vision to thermal vision was excellent. The casting and performances were exceptional and very convincing, especially del Toro, whom I feel was the cherry on top. Just his simple "ssssssth" during the choking rescue scene is enough to make your hair stand on end. The writing had some plot and technical issues, and needed more clarity in some scenes. But the non-stop tension, suspense and scenes that will make you gasp with disbelief, along with the perfect pacing and 121 min runtime, makes you overlook those little flaws. It just all feels so real. An astonishing film that will impress even if this isn't your genre.
-
Sicario was first released back in 2015. I just watched it for the first time last week...and I really have no excuse other than I'm an idiot. I knew I'd like it, I'd heard nothing but amazing things, and five minutes into the movie I completely regretted not watching it sooner. Sicario is, hands down, one of the best action/thrillers of the decade. Director Denis Villeneuve manages to create so much suspense and intensity throughout 120 minutes that at times it's almost unbearable. Needless to say, my fingernails did not survive this movie. The plot itself is fairly basic - the FBI teams up with some shady people to fight a brutal Mexican drug cartel. Emily Blunt plays the young FBI agent recruited into the fight, and for most of the movie the audience is just as confused and suspicious as she is. It delivers plenty of wonderful "what the hell?" moments, as you never really get a sense of anyone's true motivations until the end. The performances are universally terrific and the dialogue is sharp, but the main reason the movie works so masterfully is Villeneuve. With the help of some striking cinematography and a brilliant score, he gives us one of the most surprising, tense, and atmospheric thrillers in the history of the genre. If you've never seen Sicario, please don't make my mistake and see it ASAP.
-
Sicario is a film one never forgets. Brutal horror of a Mexican drug cartel tracked down by a wily and savvy Intel Agency Contractor (Josh Brolin) with an American Cowboy my-way-or-highway playbook, two FBI agents (Emily Blunt and Daniel Kaluuya) about to get a first-hand indoctrination into the front-line multi-agency specialty-team of drug-lord hunters, and a mysterious Mexican subject-matter advisor (Benicio Del Toro) bent on delivering his version of justice and personal revenge set the stage for one Hell of a ride over the border - the brilliant subtlety of the scenes and editing serves only to magnify the plot and action.
Stunning Cinematography highlights the scenic beauty of the country besieged with the contradicting brutality of the Mexican drug trade in the "land of wolves". Eerie moody music and superior sound editing escalates the tension that builds throughout. Genius editing creates a droning non-stop flow of that tension, an essential element to the success of any thriller.
Sicario was compelling evidence in 2015 (one of the best and most competitive years of the new Millennium for film releases with 'Spotlight' and 'Bridge of Spies' also in the same year) that Denis was one of the industry's very best newly emerged Directors - one who was most-likely to put out future films on an epic Hall of Fame level. His 2016 film 'Arrival' was an interesting follow-up to Sicario, taking him into the sci-fi realm with an intelligent screenplay and once again moody cinematography and editing.
However, his 2017 film 'Blade Runner 2049' derailed his momentum with its often too-long droning scenes and lack of effective story-boarding, sending us a confusing message.
The 'Dune' trilogy is now Villeneuve's main focus, and its first episode not clearly indicating whether Sicario was Denis' crowning achievement or a taste of greatness that lay ahead in the remaining Dune entries. Dune 1 was hoped by many sci fi fans to be an all-time sci fi achievement in film, but in many ways disappointed, and was more like an extended trailer for the epic ("sets the stage" as Denis later stated). Dune's catch phrase at the end of Dune "It's only the beginning" may be an indication of much greater things ahead - Let's hope it is that, and not a warning.
For now at least (early July, 2023), Sicario is clearly Denis' best film - a MUST-SEE movie.
NOTE: The realistic and brutal violence of this film and situations are intense, and NOT appropriate for those under 16 (or those easily affected by such).
If one wonders why the USA puts forth so much effort in the War on Drugs on and over our Southern border, this film illuminates the rationale in clear stark light.
👍👍 -
TheLittleSongbird10 September 2017'Sicario' had me stoked from the start. It is hard to go wrong with the involvement of cinematographer Roger Deakins, director Denis Villeneuve, writer Taylor Sheridan, advertising that really makes one want to see the film, its critical acclaim and a cast like Emily Blunt, Josh Brolin and Benicio Del Toro.
In no way was 'Sicario' a let down. It completely lived up to the hype and all of the attractions/reasons for seeing the film were among the things that made 'Sicario' so good. 'Sicario' to me really is one of the best films of 2015, one of the best crime thriller films in years and a standout film of the decade. Its one stumbling block was that more could have been done with the character of Kate, the character and her motivations seemed a little underwritten somewhat and not always as decisive or plausible as ought. However, it was nowhere near as big a problem as made out (also was completely masked by how brilliant the rest of the film was), because it was clear that she was meant to be something of a fish out of water character and that was brought out very well, meaning that to me some of her actions made sense somewhat.
Everything about the film in general is brilliant and a tour-De-force of film-making, though it is understandable if it doesn't connect with all. 'Sicario' is impeccably made for starters, the setting is both audacious and visceral in showing the horrors and brutality of the setting and the editing is tight, stylish and enhances the brutal atmosphere. Best of all is the cinematography (in close competition in that year's Oscar category with 'The Revenant, which was a deserved winner), with Roger Deakins demonstrating once again why he is one of the best contemporary cinematographers in the business with cinematography that's stunning and darkly gritty, also bringing out the visceral horror.
Denis Villeneuve's directing has a beautiful darkness but also a hard edge that is perfect for the story that 'Sicario' tries to tell. The music score is haunting and pulse-pulsating, one can actually feel their heart beat with tension and anticipation. Can totally see why it was nominated for the Oscar and an easy second to Ennio Morricone's work for 'The Hateful Eight'. Can also see the acclaim for the sound editing, which added a huge amount to the film's authenticity, again up against tight competition in the category that year at the Oscars.
The script is tightly structured and rich in complexity, while the story doesn't need attention-grabbing set pieces to impress or make its point and has more than that on its mind. And all the better for it. It is heavily reliant on atmosphere, this is brutal, harrowing stuff that effectively shows the horrors of the situation and setting without overdoing or sugar-coating it, also showing respect to it. It's wonderfully murky and dark, while also taut and kinetic in its energy (despite the sometimes deliberate, but never dull, pacing).
You couldn't have gotten better performances. The standout is Benicio Del Toro, with the most interesting character (especially in the genuinely shocking final act) and giving a magnificently shady performance that's chilling but also conflicted. Emily Blunt conveys great strength and touching vulnerability, while Josh Brolin is tongue-in-cheek and charming with a touch of ambiguity. Daniel Kaluuya is sort of a moral compass character, something that Kaluuya is movingly sympathetic bringing out.
Overall, a masterpiece tour-De-force with only one minor and ignorable stumbling block. 10/10 Bethany Cox -
plpregent5 October 2015The wait is over. Since the trailer came out, I watched it several times a week. That's how hyped up I was. I finally got to watch Sicario, Denis Villeneuve's latest film. It got a very positive reception at the Cannes festival, and got tons of praise from movie critics worldwide.
My very first recommendation to anyone interested in watching this film is to not watch the trailer, or don't watch it repeatedly like I did. Although it's incredibly exciting, it gives way too much away. Sicario basically consists of approximately 6-7 set-pieces. The trailer shows key moments from all the set-pieces, and leaves you knowing almost just as much about the story as you'll get to know watching the actual film.
Sicario features a pretty thin storyline, but to its defence, it's all part of a tactical approach at keeping things blurry, shady, and mysterious to the audience. Metaphorically, these mechanisms serve the story pretty well, as we watch official government agencies use unorthodox methods and people in this bloody war against the cartels, and the intent is to offer a glimpse at an ongoing situation and let the viewer's imagination fill in the blanks.
That came off as a bit of an odd artistic choice to me, as, in recent years, several films and TV shows have thoroughly explored all the horrors resulting from the war against drugs at the border area between the U.S. and Mexico. It's not exactly a brand new subject matter to worldwide audiences. My point, basically, is that it's an odd timing to choose such a broad approach to a subject that has become familiar to the masses. When my imagination had to fill in the blanks, it basically did it with memories of other films and TV shows exploiting the very same subject matter, and that dug deeper into it.
All the technical aspects of Sicario are off the charts. Denis Villeneuve's directing is spectacular. The sequence with the convoy of SUVs in Juarez has to rank among the most beautifully shot scenes that we have seen in a while, with a combination of breath-taking shots of Mexican landscapes, Juarez and its streets, incredible tension building up inside the vehicles, and how the different characters handle it. Roger Deakin's cinematography is flawless, as expected. Whether portraying a dry, sunny afternoon in Arizona or a nightly tactical operation with agents wearing night vision goggles, Deakins' contribution shines in every possible way. The same can be said about the soundtrack and the editing.
One thing that truly surprised me is how Sicario makes its point. It is intended to leave you with an overall impression on a global situation (the border war, the cartels, the way government agencies operate, etc.), and the actual story and characters become purposely subsidiary in that depiction of a broader picture. This is just another day in this war, just another set of dirty tactics, just another escalation of violence, just another dozen of people among thousands doing shady things in this mess of a war on drugs.
And if there is one flaw to this film, that's where it lies, in my humble opinion. Characters and storyline are fundamentals. Without saying that these two aspects were neglected, I feel like this is where Villeneuve's film could have reached that next level, but unfortunately didn't, by keeping everything so vague, and so volatile.
I'm not going to sugar coat it: Emily Blunt's character is one-dimensional. Her performance is good, but the character has a very simple purpose in the whole picture, and it never goes beyond that. Some secondary characters get enough screen time to let you think that they'll eventually have a true impact on the story, or be part of some sub-plot. Here again, some minor disappointments as a result. Again, it's part of a mechanism to make everyone look like a tiny dot in the big picture, but prevented me from being truly compelled by the story unfolding and most of the characters that were part of it.
Josh Brolin's and Benicio Del Toro's performances are both amazing, though. Again, you do not get to know a lot about them. That being said, the few times when you get to see more than just what's on the surface, you'll get enough hints to partly understand their true nature. But again, you'll notice that I had to use the word "partly", especially when it comes to Brolin's character. A lot is left unexplained. And while this opens up a world of possibilities where speculations get darker by the minute, I was left wanting to know more when the credits started rolling.
Overall, Sicario succeeded in leaving me feeling deceived, just like I was an extension of Kate Macer. The way it operates is quite unique, as a lot of unexplained details, characters, and events leave the viewer speculating in an environment filled with lies, shadiness, and broken ideals. The visuals and the soundtrack will blow you away. Also, the final scene was a perfect way to seal the deal, and goes perfectly in line with the "big picture" approach that this film takes.
Overall, a very entertaining drama/thriller, full of technical brilliance, and some slightly flawed fundamentals. Definitely worth a watch. -
Serge_Zehnder11 September 2015"Sicario" describes, with surgical precision, the fatal and bloody desecration of Mexico as a result of its decades long cartel war. And it does so by compressing this almost endless tragedy into a two-hour tour-de-force of filmmaking.
At its center we find idealistic FBI-Agent Kate Macer (Emily Blunt), who is recruited to pursue a Mexican drug-baron. She is being guided by a seemingly untouchable covert assassin named Alejandro (Benicio Del Toro). Their investigation and methods are pushed further into unknown territory where justice and morality are no longer valid. The end not only justifies the means, it requires them.
Denis Villeneuve's masterful piece exemplifies not only filmmaking of the highest order, but carves out a place alongside the terrible news reports as a deeply regretful, angry and at times almost unbearable look into the abyss of a socio-political nightmare that is fueled by first world-habit and global economics.
Through the powerful performances by Blunt, Del Toro and Josh Brolin in the leads as well as the excellent supporting cast, do we get a sense of the human cost (physical and psychological), which the war on drugs has taken.
From an exploding prison population, to the destruction of Mexican agriculture, to refugees and a cycle of violence that is beyond barbarity; the pull that "Sicario" exerts over the viewer is undeniable and by skirting the limits of bearable tension, without ever becoming exploitive, it is never giving an inch concerning its subject matter.
Few movies this year will have such a clear and defined structure and unflinching approach towards a situation that appears to be beyond salvation, while showing at the same time, that life nevertheless continues.
Taylor Sheridan's script doesn't miss a single beat and without sidestepping anything frees itself from beaten movie conventions by using familiar elements in an extremely skillful manner.
All these themes, stories and characters are captured through the lens of veteran Roger Deakins (Skyfall, No Country for Old Men) who lets us always know how the micro- and macro-particles of any conflict are inextricably intertwined. We share the vistas of beautiful sceneries while having to witness their downfall.
Whatever ideals the likes of Emiliano Zapata once had, their country has now, as it is described in the movie, become the land of wolves".
Fifteen years ago Steven Soderbergh's Traffic" which earned numerous Oscars, not the least of which went to Benicio Del Toro, made a clear statement about the various strands the drug trafficking business touches. Now, all those years later we see in Sicario" that even the faintest of hopes that Traffic" held onto have been eviscerated.
What now? One might ask. -
Rawal_Afzal7 October 2015Don't get me wrong, it is a good film, but I waited on and on for that special thing that made it deserve eight stars over here and win so much admiration all over the Internet, but it never arrives. Nothing special happened really.
Also, usually if they give a woman such a role they tend to show them as strong and smart, but it was hugely disappointing to see Kate literally play a cow, a weak, dumb woman who has nothing else to do except giving curious looks! She is in a sense irrelevant to the film, the story and everything undertaken by that FBI team. The only thing of note that she does is almost having sex with a person from the enemy group! -
hamish-2585124 September 2015The badlands of the US - Mexico border and the viciousness of the drug trade running across it sets the background and the tone for this movie. It's grim. Human life is very cheap and the movie doesn't flinch from showing consequences. There are definitely some scenes that are not for the faint hearted, but there is nothing gratuitous here. If anything - despite the subject matter - the film goes out of its way to avoid Hollywood heroics.
Emily Blunt does an amazing job portraying Kate Macy, a career policewoman heading a SWAT team. Her accent slips slightly a couple of times, but otherwise she's utterly believable as born and raised in the deep south of the US. Kate is a fundamentally decent, honorable human being, trying to the right thing in a world where the rule book doesn't seem to work any more. She's smart, tough, and experienced - but right from the start of the movie, it's clear that she's in over her head.
The tension never lets up. An attack could come at any moment, from any direction. Anything could be a trap. All of it, no matter how extreme something is, plays as real. The director manages scenes expertly to avoid any clean and easy action movie clichés, and it pays off enormously as the movie goes on.
It's also a highly intelligent movie, made for an intelligent audience. It doesn't lay things out on a plate. Instead you have to pay attention and you have to think, just as Kate has to - because her first mistake could be her last.
Staging, costuming, sets, cinematography, and lighting are all perfect. Some airborne shots in particular stand out as both daring and stunningly original, clearly showing just how harsh the landscape is, while managing to propel the story forward - without showing anyone, no less. This part of the movie is in the "As good as it gets" category. The only part that I didn't like (and the reason that this doesn't get a 10 from me) was the music. It's used deliberately to heighten tension during some scenes which would otherwise break the feel of the movie, and generally it's done well, but some scenes are spoiled with a There Will Be Blood styled screech. It's really not needed, especially since Sicario's own score manages to build or maintain tension quite successfully in other parts of the movie while remaining low-key.
To my mind, this is much more of a drama than it is a thriller. It's certainly not an action movie. The acting from the support cast is exactly what it needs to be - good in general, and great when a minor character is the focal point - but look closely at how much Benicio del Toro manages to do with no dialogue and not even all that much movement. Simply amazing.
This is a great movie to see if you want to be challenged. -
groundzero-273-3971104 September 2022This movie was okey. Nothing special about it. From time to time I found it kinda boring to be honest, or maybe I was just tired. It had good actors, but I did not feel much for the characters. I did not like the story that much either, but the ending was good and brutal. The action was not that good and almost nonexistent. It was more of a thriller, showing that there are people on the good side doing immoral things for the greater good. That the end justifies the means.
Is it just me or was is too easy for Benicio to get to the cartelboss at the end? He did not have to kill many bodyguards...
Oh well, maybe I will like it more if I watch it again. -
subxerogravity18 September 2015This is like the stuff you see on hour long serialized Television like Netflix's Narcos, but instead this police like drama is done in a two hour movie instead of thirteenth episodes.
Emily Blunt was amazing in her character, a good FBI agent who feels she's not doing enough on the streets and allows herself to get used by someone with more power, played by Josh Brolin brilliantly as a man who seems uncharismatic about his job in order to hide the covert nature of his mission to find the big man responsible for all the street crime.
Brolin played a necessary evil, that comes off brilliantly in the narrative that plays out. Loved how they go from the bottom and get to the very top. It's very surgical.
But the actor who stole the show in Sicario is Benicio del Toro whose character Alejandro, is a cloud of mystery that unravels slowly through the film, done both subtle and dramatic by Del Toro. Every time he was on the screen even when he did nothing he was doing something and you he demanded your attention.
Plus the music and sound combo of the movie added to the tension. it was powerful.
Incredible action-thriller. -
claudio_carvalho28 October 2018When FBI makes a raid on a cartel house in Arizona, they discover several bodies and two local police officers are killed by a booby trap. The leader of the operation Kate Macer (Emily Blunt) is summoned to a meeting in the Department of Justice and Kate is invited to join a special force commanded by CIA Matt Graver (Josh Brolin) to fight the cartels. The idealistic Kate brings her partner Reggie Wayne (Daniel Kaluuya) and they team up with the force. They learn that the team has the intent to promote havoc in the Sonora Cartel to force one well-known kingpin to come to Mexico to meet the drug lord Fausto Alarcon (Julio Cesar Cedillo) and find his whereabouts. But soon Kate finds that the assignments led by Matt and Alejandro (Benicio Del Toro) are absolutely illegal and she discovers why she was invited to join the team.
"Sicario" is a great action film with excellent sequences of shootings. The storyline shows the dilemma of a dedicated and idealistic FBI agent that learns that there is a thin and blurred line between the right and wrong. The plot is well resolved and there is a sequel unfortunately without Emily Blunt. My vote is seven.
Title (Brazil): "Sicario: Terra de Ninguém" ("Sicario: No Man Land") -
Karl Self4 October 2015I was really stoked about Sicario and went to see it the night it opened. Why was I excited? Well, the posters looked cool and I knew that celebrated director Dennis Villeneuve was expected to deliver a fresh and intelligent suspense movie with a nice dose of action.
That, plus Benicio del Toro and Josh Brolin are in it, and I think they're cool.
What I got was a gritty action movie, but unfortunately it wasn't intelligent or thought-provoking. When I'm watching Expendables 3, I'm ready to sit back, enjoy the ride and hold back on the nit-picking. That's not really an option, though, when you have to pay attention to follow the story, and are promised new insights into a deep-rooted problem.
*** Spoilers ahead *** I thought it was clever that we see the plot from the perspective of an ingénue, this time in the form of a "small-time" FBI agent (Kate Mercer played by Emily Blunt). After her SWAT team storms a horror house run by the Mexican cartels in which two of her fellow officers are killed, she's ready to go after the big guys. Her new CIA-lead team is willing to use "unconventional" (read: highly questionable) methods. They extract a drug lord from a Mexican prison and torture him for information. Kate is told that she is there to "watch and learn", but ultimately she finds out that she is only there as a goon to legitimize the CIA operating in the homeland. Her function is not to "watch and learn" but to shut up, keep out and to sign a paper at the end. For the time being though, the team storms a tunnel used to smuggle drugs across the border in a scene that seems to take a page straight out of Zero Dark Twenty ...
*** Spoilers thick on the ground from here on *** Sicario really annoyed me because it brings together so much promise with an incredibly lackluster plot. I feel like I could write an entire book about it. What's the point of the horror house at the beginning? If the cartel is using it to dispose bodies, why would they shrink-wrap the corpses? Why are there gun-toting criminals in a house full of incriminating evidence? Why are the corpses behind dry walls (is the cartel planning on renting out the house)? Why is the trap-door booby-trapped? Why do police have to anticipate that in about six months every further crime scene will be booby-trapped if they don't stop the cartel now? When they are illegally extracting the cartel boss from the Mexican prison, why are they doing it in a highly visible convoy? If they anticipate being ambushed just before the frontier, why don't they keep a lane open? Why didn't they use a helicopter? Why don't they just torture the guy in Mexico? What are the ambushers trying to achieve? What is the role of the crooked cop? Could he be any hammier than carrying a gel bend around that the cartel uses to hold their bankrolls together? And on and on.
Five points because of the acting and the cinematography. For an intelligent thriller on the Mexican drugs war, I'd recommend Traffic over Sicario any time. -
Ramascreen17 September 2015More visceral than Steven Soderbergh's "Traffic." SICARIO is about the cost to pay in a drug war and its merciless brutality. Masterfully shot, perfectly acted. This is a film that doesn't allow you to feel comfortable. With each passing moment, it crawls its way deeper and deeper into this world where death is its only end game.
Director Denis Villenuve reteams with master cinematographer Roger Deakins to take advantage of the desert, the weather, the landscape, the terrain, and use them as silent supporting characters that also serve to express the characters' inner demons. Deakins is a multiple Oscar-nominated DP that gets better with every work and in SICARIO, you will see that he once again experiments with even richer and newer ways of shooting, whether it's the night vision first person view or the angles to capture the intensity at the border, moments before weapons are drawn, it's like enrolling in another classroom taught by Deakins but with extra curriculums to learn. The man just knows how to leave his competition behind.
To me, what I think is impressive about Emily Blunt is that she is beauty and strength all in one. She can express torment and conflicted soul so effortlessly, she plays this FBI agent, Kate Macer who does things by the book, she always holds herself and others accountable for every detail, so when she volunteers to be a part of a black ops that practically throws the book out the window, her idealistic views are put to the test. And I think Emily Blunt does a nice job of executing that. It's somewhat of a fish out of water story where Blunt's Kate Macer knows she's being used but she wants to know what she's being used for. Oscar winner, Benicio Del Toro has walked through this territory before in Steven Soderbergh's "Traffic" where he played a Tijuana police officer. In SICARIO, he plays a mysterious character, Alejandro, he's skilled, a man of a few words, soft spoken, but highly intense and has a sharp instinct. What has always been brilliant about Del Toro, in all of his works including SICARIO, is that he can say much without actually saying much at all. In the case of his character, Alejandro, there's a certain dark pain that's magnetic about him. It's all in the eyes. Oscar nominee Josh Brolin plays the leader of the team, Matt Graver, he talks way too damn much but that is also a part of his game, his game of manipulating others.
I've never been to Juarez, I've heard horrible stories about that place, and SICARIO, though it wasn't exactly filmed in Juarez, does manage to put the fear of God in audiences' heart by showing Juarez for what it is, there's no sugar coating, there's no hiding that it's one of the murder capitals of the world. It's a deeply harrowing part that will stay with you long after you've done watching the film which in and of itself wrestles with questions of morality.SICARIO means 'hit-man,' you'll come to wonder which of those three lead characters is the actual hit-man but ultimately, what SICARIO gives you is this dilemma,... if somebody could finally solve the drug cartel and drug kingpin problems for the rest of us, would you really care that they did it by killing instead of bringing the perp to justice? -
Feverishly satisfying with pulse-pounding energy that's sure to give your heart its full day's work, Denis Villenueve's masterful "Sicario" with Emily Blunt, Benicio del Toro, and Josh Brolin is an edge of your seat thriller that exemplifies the finest parts of the action genre. Filled with mystery, suspense, and outstanding performances, Villenueve's direction, along a tight script by Taylor Sheridan, brings a much needed sense of technique and art that's been sorely missing from the 2015 movie year.
"Sicario" tells the story of an idealistic FBI agent names Kate (Blunt), who is enlisted by an elected government task force to aid in the escalating war against drugs at the border area between the U.S. and Mexico. With the "guidance" of a mysterious agent Alejandro (Del Toro) and her superior Matt (Brolin), and influx of intrigue and morals will shake Kate to her very core.
First and foremost, "Sicario" breathes new life into contemporary cinematography, as produced by no less than the great Roger Deakins. A vessel for God's eye on the world, Deakins ignites the fire of his vision, capturing some of the finest shots seen this decade. His use of shadows, CGI, and choices in which to convey and portray emotions is downright genius. Becoming essentially another character in the story, Deakins gives a master's class on cinematography for future craftsmen and women to behold. It's a work that will surely land him his thirteenth Oscar nomination.
Above that, we are treated to fantastic and awards worthy performances. Emily Blunt, as seen in nearly everything she touches, shows herself as one of the most interesting and endearing actresses working today. Her courage and vulnerability for Kate is personified by Blunt's ability to connect with the character's soul. She lays into Kate calmly, echoing great performances like Jessica Chastain in "Zero Dark Thirty" but with more reserve.
Benicio Del Toro is downright magnificent. As Alejandro, he delivers his best performance since "21 Grams." A dedicated sensation that calls back to all types of performances such as Javier Bardem in "No Country for Old Men" or Gene Hackman in "The French Connection." You won't be able to take your eyes off him. Josh Brolin utilizes every ounce of his charm that has made him one of the most sought after actor's in the business. A memorable, though understated and undervalued character that you do want more clarity about. Other cast members like Jon Bernthal, Jeffrey Donovan, Victor Garber, and especially Daniel Kaluuya are given their fair share of opportunity, which all take well.
As a technical endeavor, "Sicario" also succeeds in its vibrantly living sound design, and illustrious score by Academy Award nominee Jóhann Jóhannsson. The two are married in a blistering union of tension and heart palpitations. Editor Joe Walker is a shining star behind the scenes as well, thanks to his precision and patience in bringing a scene right to the edge, and knowing when and where to take it next. It's his most innovative work yet, even surpassing his nominated work on "12 Years a Slave."
Goes without saying that "Sicario" is Denis Villenueve's best work to date. Coming from someone that thoroughly enjoyed "Prisoners" and tolerated "Enemy," this is his most accessible and compelling piece. If anything, he's just so damn exciting to watch these days, as he locates strange vehicles for actor's and craftsmen to come together. He takes on a genre that may feel familiar, like the drug cartel, but makes it feel new and smart.
"Sicario" is hands down one of the year's best films. -
chaos-rampant21 December 2015This is simple but fine in the sketch; a horrendous border crime is uncovered in a house on the US side, it calls for a response of some kind, consequences. In an ideal world, the machinery of justice would whir into place and produce order, culprits would be apprehended, but it's not that kind of world, is it?
The whole point is that gears will turn, something resembling justice will be served, but the turning will shuffle morals, shift boundaries of what someone can get away with in a closed room or in the dark of the night when no one's there to watch.
The idea is that discord must be introduced, deliberate, planned disorder; a cowboy is brought in from this or that shady Washington agency to ruffle feathers, stir the waters to see what comes out from hiding. The film knowingly stirs all these elements on its surface, without the rat-ta-ta convulsions of the CIA airport thriller.
We have a medievally barbarous cartel on the enemy side so that even though the shuffling unnerves, we will wearily concede the necessity. But this makes it a truth demanding no less of our discourse; would you have it different? Is anything made right, or does any of it restore more than a passing order of appearances? A new head will be appointed the next day, the turning goes on.
But this will do just fine in the vicinity that it puts itself. Thriller in mechanics, but leaves room for anxiety that must be faced in the world. Tethers pulled taut in visual stretches, the land hums. With a little more ironic distance in the turn we would be in Coens territory, with a little more human friction in Sayles' turf. -
This movie gets way too much hype for the fantasy that it actually is. The vast majority of murders and kidnappings in the Mexico cartel wars are carried out by males in their 20s and in mostly amateur fashion. The depiction of the Super Sicario here is pure Hollywood. The idea of a Super Sicario who expertly hunts down American agents and moves within their ranks is absolutely ridiculous. Also, the idea that there are delta force (type) raids and assassinations going on with U.S. military or covert assets is simply not accurate. When a Mexican cartel boss or lieutenant is brought down in real life, it's generally in boring fashion while they hide in a hotel room or get involved in a shootout with a rival cartel. Finally, illegal practices such as torture are glamorized and depicted as effective, when all real-world intel gathering professionals will tell you otherwise. Cross border tunnel raids in which dozens are killed is just the icing on the Hollywood cake.
In any case, this is obviously fiction and the film does try to depict the nebulous nature of the war on drugs near the U.S.-Mexico border. The story is taut and very well directed by Villeneuve. The film does not take a stand on one side or the other - the drug trade and all the violence that it entails, especially in the 2000's, is the direct result of American demand for the product. Further, the movie attempts to demonstrate that the volume of drugs passing through (or under) our border crossings simply would not be possible without massive corruption on both sides.
All in all I was disappointed because I am very familiar with the areas in which it was set and the U.S-Mexico dialectic concerning the war on (some) drugs and horrific cartel violence in Juarez, MX. I thought that while the direction was more than competent, it wasn't Villeneuve's best work and that Taylor Sheridan took way too much creative license and that the end result was a highly stylized flick that doesn't capture the boring and even more horrifying aspects of the situation in Mexico. I suppose my main problem with the movie, however, was the idea of a super assassin and that it depicts the U.S. as way more interested in what is going on down there than it actually is. -
Kings_Requiem26 September 2015Jesus.
This was intense. So much so that it made me kind of uncomfortable. I was squirming in my seat. And it was extremely dark. Not color wise, but the subject matter. Villeneuve really knows how to take the most vile subjects and turn them into wholly compelling cinema.
The cast was uniformly excellent. The big three of Blunt, Brolin & Del Toro are all crazy good. Even though Blunt has the lead role it's definitely not a showy part...it's very understated with a lot of it consisting of looks. An internal performance, for sure, but one that might just be the best of her career. Brolin is given a role that at first seems like nothing more than comic relief, but as the film goes on he keeps becoming more and more a part of the character until close to the end when all the jokes disappear and he becomes something else entirely. It was really cool to see that transition. Very good work from him and there are times where it feels like he's stealing the whole movie away from the others. Which brings me to Mr. Del Toro. What else is there to say except Ho Lee Sh!t. This man was just on a completely different level with this performance. Another one that begins very internal consisting of a lot of looks mixed with one or two word responses...then gradually as the film progresses and his background and motives become clearer he, like Brolin, becomes something else entirely. But at the same time never going overboard with it...still keeping that quiet intensity he's had throughout. All three performances are absolutely fantastic and among the best of the year. Hell, Del Toro's might even be the best of the year. Haunting stuff.
As mentioned above this a very intense film. The set-pieces in this are unbelievable. The opening raid, The Border crossing, The night- vision/tunnel sequence and finally The dinner scene. Just pure craziness.
With that being said - I don't think this is an Oscar movie. It's just way too dark for the Academy's liking. Very much like Villeneuve's Prisoners, both films are more than deserving of awards attention, but unfortunately the Academy rarely goes for films this dark.
See this movie ASAP. Preferably in a theater. Just know you might need a shower afterward. -
elliotjeory21 May 2021Not so much story, the characters not so great. It lacked an engaging story and you didn't care about the characters. I also think that a cartel boss would have dozens of men guarding his house not just three at the gate.
-
Evanoil28 December 2015Hard to find a thriller like Sicario these days , watch it! My thought is that a good Thriller title is the hardest case you can go for as a movie maker .A good thriller has to keep you hooked and in tense for the whole movie ,worst case for most of the movie.Sicario manages to provide the right amount of thrill and action in a way it keeps you interested through all of the time.Sure it had its flaws and sometimes i was a little disappointed with the decision the writers made with this one but when i look at the whole picture its coming up as a very good film , i honestly couldn't stop watching and was a little sad when it was over. I must say though that this movie has a political opinions in it that you cant overlook and it can be a little con for some viewers. Overall , this movie is truly a gem to Hollywood industry right now , very well written and directed plus it has outstanding cast.
-
Sicario was billed to me as a great movie to watch. I was expecting something along the lines of Crash, silence of the lambs mexican style or essentially a confronting movie with blood, gore, police fights and telling chases.
Instead were left with a slow plot instead.
The start of the movie delivered exactly what I expected. A confronting Gang hiding people in walls and life being cheap. Perfect, we see clearly why Emily would go on a mission south. Now we find Emily and a Mexican police escort posse 15 cars long go into the dangerous zone with corpses hanging by the side of the road warding them off. Good start.
Then the traffic jam! wow this convoy is stuck in traffic and they see 2 gang cars in the distance also stuck in traffic. How convenient, so they wonder over, gang cars pull guns on them, get shot and they get a crumb of information.... right I bought that plot leap!
Now we have this 'shock' that US agencies go across the border to arrest and torture bad guys who appear to be quite bad. No redeeming features of them, just gang thugs being pushed to confess. Emily and her partner push to their boss wanting more details and answers...flagging their procedural concerns there. It's illuminating but sicario fails to ramp up the tension. It's officers asking their boss "are we ok to do this"..."yes". It doesn't bring out the objections clear enough. The biggest problem being the FBI involved are 'in the dark', not the torture nor their reaction to the torture.
So Emily gets drunk, her partner introduces her to a "good man" they get it on. When she realises he was carrying a bank note wrap identical to the wrap used in this mornings bust at the bank. After playing an almost helpless white female, a man comes to her rescue and gets this corrupt cop off her.
Again how convenient. Lets just have a QF make another plot leap. Now they interrogate the corrupt cop and find out the location of the other corrupt cops. The only redeeming factor here is the corrupt cop being told that it's his family in protective custody or their addresses posted on Reddit.
Then there is the tunnel scene which is meant to impress us with IR technology. Emily confronts Del Toro after he finds another corrupt cop "silvio" loading money in the trunk. Emily goes to stop him and Del Toro shoots her in her armor. Del toro then proceeds to use the corrupt cop to get into the gang mansion and kill everyone there. Including the gang leaders family as they sit to eat a meal. It is 100% unclear if Emily knows any of this or if Del Toro is just immune to bullets.
Also this is the death of Silvio, the father of the mexican kid playing soccer. the Kid being bossed around to get his bratty father stuff while he lives the life of the family father god. I had no idea why this was added. You make a heartfelt father and kill him I would understand as this provides connection to the brown people being blown apart, tortured and killed during the movie. You make a flawed and real father then you get a real connection. Instead you have made a demanding father that does nothing with his kid who the kid feels ambivalent about his passing in circumstances unknown. what was the point!
The real crunch, Del toro this assassin is the one who confronts Emily to fill in the paperwork greenlighting the whole operation and to say it followed procedure. Right, your assassin paid to take out another drug cartel is the one ensuring the paperwork is signed! After wanting to see this for a few years and hearing a lot of hype, this is a fizza. -
bob-the-movie-man27 February 2016Sicario ('Hitman' in Mexican) is well worth your viewing time. The ever- reliable Emily Blunt excels here as FBI agent and hostage specialist Kate Macer. After a gruesome discovery in Phoenix, Kate becomes an idealistic fish-out-of-water in a complex CIA mission, run by Matt Graver (Josh Brolin) against a notorious Mexican drug cartel. Key to the mission is Columbian-born Alejandro (Benicio del Toro): a man with a tragic past that directly guides his future. To tell more would spoil what is a dense and complex storyline that evolves in a most satisfactory manner.
The acting is superb, with Blunt giving a career-best performance (sadly overlooked by the major awards), Josh Brolin being convincing as the war-weathered CIA man and Benicio del Toro delivering his best stone cold killer in gripping style. His Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination is well deserved, albeit for the maintenance of a fairly standard and chilling expression. Finally a name to watch for the future is London-born Daniel Kaluuya as Macer's black FBI colleague frustrated at being sidelined as a 'spare' by the task force.
Equally praiseworthy is the epic cinematography of Roger Deakin ("Skyfall", "No Country for Old Men") which is also Oscar nominated. Remarkable landscapes of the Mexican border are supported by breathtaking helicopter/drone shots of the CIA convoy of black vehicles in one of the tenser moments in the film. Outstanding (for both direction, editing and cinematography) is a scene set in and around a tunnel that is the best satellite/night vision scene since the 'electronic battlefield' in "Patriot Games" in 1992.
The Oscar-nominated music by Jóhann Jóhannsson (so good with "The Theory of Everything") is of the atonal electronic variety, undoubtedly effective in conveying the film's mood but difficult to compare against the more obvious Oscar nominations from the likes of Ennio Morricone and John Williams.
Directed by Denis Villeneuve (who specialises in single named features) this is a tense, intelligent and thought-providing film that does nothing for Mexico's tourist industry but a lot for Trump's presidential campaign!
Often brutal, this is not an easy film to watch. But it is a highly intelligent watch, requiring your full attention throughout, and is deserving of a place among the best films of 2015. Recommended.
(Please visit bob-the-movie-man.com for the graphical version of this review. Thanks). -
jb_campo12 March 2016I expected more from Sicario, but was disappointed with both the plot and the fairly empty, shallow story.
I also think Emily Blount was miscast as Kate, the FBI agent who handles kidnappings until she's suddenly recruited to join a Govt anti-drug task force. Enter Josh Brolin as the Govt agent. He was excellent as one of these mysterious Govt types that works for some agency with some kind of authority from somewhere.
But Benicio Del Toro is the star. He turns in a terrific performance as this ultra mysterious Spanish-speaker who has some TBD role helping the US Govt fight against Mexican drug lords.
Kate is supposedly this tough FBI agent, but she seems to bristle at the Govt agents methods, thinking that the law is supposed to be followed. But these guys don't. Really though, drug lords, Mexico, what did she expect? I kept thinking that if she was this righteous, she should not have volunteered.
There are some nice back and forth scenes between Blount and Del Toro as he coaches her on how to absorb what she sees, and well as with Brolin.
But the story suffers because we never learn more about Kate or any of these guys. It would have really helped to learn about Kate's upbringing to more understand he motivation to fight drugs so much. But instead, it's empty. So when she starts bristling, you are left wondering why.
The story gets a bit bogged down with she and her partner smoking cigarettes, and going back and forth to this hotel to meet the teams. It's like, OK, what is the point here? The story also gets a bit hard to figure out what is happening.
The whole movie is pretty bloody and violent, as you'd expect. But it's not a great film by any means. The ending culminates in your learning more, but I'm like, so what, big deal.
Average at best is Sicario. Some great stuff from Del Toro, but otherwise, just average. Enjoy. -
mochiposh4 October 2015The overall ideas and the way they present the scenes were intense and received quite the reaction it perhaps intended. First few minutes with scary death bodies inside the walls were very promising. However, most of the plots are poorly written, is it real that a big cartel was only guarded by few people? But the other (men) lead characters played their part okay, they lifted the poorly written story a little bit.
Most critics go to Emily Blunt's character. Up until now, I still don't get why was she even there. I don't get the "tension" or whatever it is she's supposed to be showing, maybe conflicts? To me, it is unrealistic for a field agent who's been "kicking doors since day one" really follow the rules by the book with no adaption at all. And the supposedly "smart" agent doesn't get how bad a cartel can be is beyond me - I'm no police but I get how bad "cartel" can get, and I only used imagination. I just don't get it, I feel only annoyed with the character, she is really unnecessary.
Overall, I only get this "annoyed by Emily Blunt" feeling after watching the movie, not much anything else. I'm giving some marks for the other actors and for the "tense".