Sicario 2: Soldado (2018)

Director: Stefano Sollima

Writer: Taylor Sheridan (Screenplay)

Starring: Benicio Del Toro, Josh Brolin, Isabela Moner, Jeffrey Donovan, Catherine Keener, Manuel Garcia-Fulfo, Matthew Modine

Plot: The drug war on the US-Mexico border has escalated as the cartels have begun trafficking terrorists across the US border. To fight the war, federal agent Matt Graver re-teams with the mercurial Alejandro.

Runtime: 2 Hours 2 Minutes

There may be spoilers the rest of the review

Verdict: Excellently Shot

Story: Sicario 2: Soldado starts with a terrorist attack on American soil, Matt Graver (Brolin) is bought in to learn who is responsible for getting them into America in the first place, this leads him to the Mexican Cartels. Matt’s assignment is to create a war between the cartels.

Matt brings Alejandro (Del Toro) the best man back for the job which involves kidnapping Isabel Reyes (Moner) the daughter of one of the games, but when the release goes wrong the race to cover up the job is on.

Thoughts on Sicario 2: Soldado

Characters – Alejandro is recruited once again by Matt Graver to do an off the books job on the border of Mexico. He is the cold hearted killer that we met before, he goes on his own mission through the film which shows just how skilled he is. Matt Graver is the man the government turn to when they need to get a dirty job done, he is like a machine when it comes to decision making and knows to make contacts in his field. He has a much more front and center role in this film. Isabel Reyes is the target they team goes after as a pawn in the battle between the Cartels. This isn’t the strongest character and we don’t know how often she is willing to use her father’s name. the rest of the characters we meet focus on the government making the decisions, the cartels and the small town smugglers which all come together for the final story.

Performances – This is a movie with two excellent performances in from Benicio Del Toro and Josh Brolin, these two show how talented they are and elevate their performances from the first film. the rest of the cast are good without taking away the spotlight from any of the two leads.

Story – The story continues to show the war on the cartels in and around the Mexican border, it shows how the government is willing to create their own war to keep the other side out of their problems. The core of the story follows one mission to create a war in Mexico, we know the players in the game from the American side and they are unleashed to go further than before. There is a subplot about a teenager getting bought into the cartel to help with the smuggling, which is important for the story, but the build is very much out of the style of the rest of the film. if you like the dark, brutal side of the original then you will enjoy this one too, though I will warn there are some very difficult scenes to watch.

Action/Crime – The action in this film is hard hitting, the shoot outs are brilliant and the explosion look as realistic as you could imagine. There is no turning away from the brutality in the action. The crime shows the American government breaking the law to fight the criminals at their own game which is where the film puts out the ethical question about what they are doing.

Settings – The film uses the settings excellently, this helps with the shots we get that use the camerawork perfectly and show just where this war will be happening.

Special Effects – The effects in the film show us just what happens when our characters get hit by the bullets flying around, the effects are brutal to watch.

Scene of the Movie – The dust convoy

That Moment That Annoyed Me – The Miguel storyline takes something away from the mission story.

Final Thoughts – This is an excellent sequel to Sicario, it shows just how deadly the game of creating wars can be and just how dirty people will have to get to achieve this.

Overall: Must watch action thriller.

Rating

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