Writer: Taylor Sheridan (Screenplay)
Starring: Emily Blunt, Benicio Del Toro, Josh Brolin, Victor Garber, Jon Bernthal, Daniel Kaluuya, Jeffrey Donovan, Raoul Trujillo, Julio Cedillo
Plot: An idealistic FBI agent 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.
There may be spoilers the rest of the review
Verdict: Tense Thriller
Story: Sicario starts when a FBI SWAT team bust a house where Kate Macer (Blunt) discover the walls are filled with dead bodies. After impressing the higher ups in the FBI Kate gets assigned to work on a task force under Matt Graver (Brolin) to track down the Cartel along with the expert Alejandro (del Toro).
On this task force Kate discovers not everything is going by the book as she tries her hardest to fight to get this done the legal way but even her higher ups want this done the illegal way to stir the pot and expose the criminals.
Sicario is a tense thriller that keeps us on the edge of our seats, it has plenty of twists and turns that keep us guessing to where things are going and who people are. This is slow moving as we only really follow the preparation, execution and questions about each mission without getting to in depth with anything else. It will go down as one of the best thrillers of the year.
Actor Review
Emily Blunt: Kate Macer is a highly respected leader of a FBI SWAT unit that gets a chance to get revenge on the Cartel that have been causes the deaths of her unit. She ends up on a special task force where she questions every decision being made for being unethical compared to the usual by the book style she works under. We find Kate trapped in a world she doesn’t fully understand but in a place she wants to be in too where she learns how to take down a Cartel. Emily is brilliant in this role showing all her skills through the performance.
Benicio Del Toro: Alejandro is the Mexican helping the special unit, he will do the dirty jobs without blinking but still keeps mystery about him from start to finish. Benicio is great in this role which is filled with mystery.
Josh Brolin: Matt Graver is the leader of the special unit, he is very laidback and doesn’t care what rules they break to get the job down, he also isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty when it comes to getting the job done but would rather leave it up for Alejandro. Josh is good in this role with his style working for the role.
Victor Garber: Dave Jennings is the head of the FBI who gives Kate the chance to be part of this task force, he is happy with things being done off the book as long as it gets results. Victor is good in this supporting role without being a major part of the film.
Support Cast: Sicario has good basic supporting cast that all work for the story.
Director Review: Denis Villeneuve – Denis brings his own style to this thriller that all works for where the story needed to go.
Action: Sicario has good tactical action from start to finish.
Crime: Sicario brings us into the crime war against the Cartels as we see the intense side of the story.
Mystery: Sicario adds the mystery as we just don’t know what the overall plan is, as well as wondering who Alejandro really is.
Thriller: Sicario keeps us guessing to what will happen next and to who throughout.
Settings: Sicario takes us to the location you would expect to see in the world we are a part of for this journey
Special Effects: Sicario uses great effects to create the kills used throughout.
Suggestion: Sicario is one for all the thriller fans to enjoy from start to finish. (Watch)
Best Part: Tension from start to finish.
Worst Part: Slow moving.
Believability: No
Chances of Tears: No
Chances of Sequel: No
Post Credits Scene: No
Oscar Chances: Will most likely appear on the lists
Budget: $30 Million
Runtime: 2 Hour 1 Minute
Tagline: The border is just another line to cross.
Trivia: The thermal vision shots in the film were shot with a thermal vision camera and they were not added in the post-production.
Overall: Tense thriller that keeps us guessing from start to finish
Rating