Sicario: Day of the Soldado (DVD) – Movie Review
According to the movie: Sicario roughly translates to ‘hitman’, but to be blunt, it probably means something more akin to ‘HOLY SHIT WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK’. It’s the second movie in what the box blurb says to be a franchise. The subtitle is: No rules this time and Director: Stefano Sollima really did take that to heart. Definitely not a movie to unwind to after a frustrating mind numbing day of work. Sony Pictures Releasing released the movie under Columbia Pictures in the United States. Internationally, however, the movie was released under Lionsgate.
The bible states –something along the lines of- when someone strikes you, turn the other cheek. You’d think bible thumping god fearing men in power would take that to heart. They don’t, at least in Sicario: Day of the Soldado, they don’t, because when a Mexican immigrant blows himself up during an attempt to cross the border and similar attacks on US soil happen, the government doesn’t think to wait out the details, but prepare to strike back at the cartels, whom they think are behind the attacks. Now, it must be said, in the first ten minutes of the movie, it’s one brutal thing after the next. If it were just this, the movie wouldn’t blow the viewer away, it’s what happens during the next hour and forty minutes that just keeps the viewer at the edge of their seat. This movie is tense, it’s like a Tess Gerritsen book only with the tension dialled up to eleven.
So who are the men tasked with infiltrating the Cartel and starting the fire on Mexican soil? Benicio Del Toro is the man known as Alejandro Gillick who is tasked with securing the ‘package’. Matt Graver (Josh Brolin) is the CIA Special Activities Division Officer who got Alejandro in on the mission.
Isabella Moner plays Isabel Reyes, daughter of a Cartel leader and her role in this movie is vital. As without her, the whole conflict wouldn’t be in existence and the men doing the mission wouldn’t start doubting everything they are striving to achieve.
When it comes to the acting, there are few movies that don’t let up and have a way of not letting five minutes pass without giving you goosebumps and not make it feel forced. You have movies where the director tries their hardest to make the viewer feel tense and it just falls flat on its face. Sicario: Day of the Soldado does not have this quality, it’s a thrill ride all the way through. Benicio Del Toro knows how to look stern and still come across as a likeable albeit scarred man. Josh Brolin is supposed to be the big bad man, with cojones the size of minivans, but at times you see the facade cracking. Though he doesn’t mind getting his hands dirty, which the movie shows off in great detail, a little too great, at times. His slight change in demeanor towards his operation shows in the details. That’s what makes this movie work and keeps up the tension.
Sicario: Day of the Soldado is a very politically charged movie. It’s not like you can start off a movie with someone muttering ‘Allahu Ackbar’ without the viewing audience wincing with the gravity and the actuality of it all. It does however have the ‘Too Soon’ vibe to it. It hits a little too close to home. It might be a statement but doing so at the very start of your movie shows you have the confidence or the foolhardiness to want to make it work.
The writing and the casting is on point because no actor feels like they are playing a role, they come across as natural human beings. The absolute heartlessness of Cynthia Foards (Catherine Keener) or the backpedalling spinelessness of James Riley (Matthew Modine) are depictions of the people in control of people. The roles these actors play work because that’s what the government comes across as, doing everything and anything to get what they want, even if that means making everyone eat shit, all for the greater good.
When talking about the music, there’s a strange thing going on with Sicario: Day of the Soldado, there’s little to no music, it all hinges on the camerawork and the acting prowess of the actors in play. The director made the choice of letting the expressions and demeanor of the actors set the scene instead of trying to tug at heart strings by playing a sappy tune, which is a great thing if you can make it work, which it does, in this case.
When you buy the DVD of Sicario: Day of the Soldado you’ll also get the: From film to Franchise: continuing the Story reel, the making of: An Act of War, The Assassin and the Soldier, a summary of the cast and the trailer. So there’s some extra’s to keep you engaged with the movie even longer.
Conclusion
Sicario: Day of the Soldado isn’t a movie that pulls its punches. It comes in hard, raw and with eyes set to kill. It’s a statement, a harsh one, but one nonetheless. All-star actors make this movie into a tense piece of work where betrayal is the name of the game and even your allies turn on you in the blink of an eye. Not a movie to watch when trying to unwind, but a movie that will occupy your mind for several hours or even days.
Sicario: Day of the Soldado (DVD) - Movie Review,
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