Sicario: Day Of The Soldado

Sicario: Day Of The Soldado

SICARIO was my choice for the best film of the year of 2015 and it remains my go to Denis Villeneuve film and my favorite Taylor Sheridan project. And that’s quite an achievement since they have both gone onto have exceptional careers. You see, in my eyes, it was a flawless work of cinema, however once I found out they were developing a sequel in which Villeneuve wasn’t going to direct, I was skeptical.

For one, the first film concluded nicely and didn’t need another installment, and two why even make it if it’s not going to have Villeneuve? In general, my worries were eased due to the fact that Sheridan was the writer, however I was still fearful that this project would be a huge blunder.

Sicario, Day of the Soldado is even richer in content than the first. There will be comparisons made; however, many will recognize the differences that make it unique. It cannot be said that Villeneuve’s absence is not noticed; but the film does quite well without him and his crew. Sollima directed the picture, and quite different from the ‘operatic’ approach that Villeneuve had, Sollima’s direction was indeed more appropriate. In fact, it Simply makes the movie his.

This brings her 100 contacts to the right spot. It still allows Sheridan to become the series’ driving force as he is the one who pushes who genuinely drives the story on entirely different themes. For this heroin overdose, when heroin came to be one of the preferred products, the drug industry did not shy away from doing the same for people as well, this theme had not yet been developed in the first part.

He couldn’t even go into the theatre with Blunt there, for there was no surrogate, they are all in his works. Sheridan will employ major social justice even without Emily Blunt’s character in this. One again sees Brolin as a very bitter and cynical weapon of the US government arguing with his higher-ups, some of the coldest orders although in the end, he is just a tool.

If Brolin did not do the heavy lifting too often then in the sequel, he was on the battle lines with his point man Jeffrey Donovans Forsing who offers the closest thing to there is to comic relief, killing dozens of players by the end. But like the first, SOLDADO is nothing like an action movie, and at best you are meant to feel at odds with the action on display, which is definitely well choreographed. This is crucial to note and stops it from being just another run of the mill action film.

Perhaps the greatest shift to the second film is in the development of Alejandro with Del Toro bringing some humanity to the character through his bond with Moner’s character and an event that makes him reflect on his dead daughter. Once more, he does not emerge a hero but we see flashes of the man he used to be before they were executed. It works, and it is advantageous that Del Toro is at his most appealing. With two films so far to his credit, Alejandro is fast becoming his signature character.

When it comes to the technical aspects of the film, DP Dariusz Wolski does not fail to impress as he gives the film a sharp imaging which is different to the original but still unique in its own right. In comparison, Hildur Guonadottir’s score is mostly an imitation of Johansson’s style for SICARIO, even borrowing some motifs, but it serves the purpose of unifying the movie.

There are things that Sollima does that make it not that way, but make it that way. The absence of Blunt may also cause others annoyance and yes, this picture has a much different masculine vibe than the first one, but certainly Moner has a great sub plot as a teenage gang member and that does cut the humanity quite effective.

My only complaint, and it’s not a big one, is the fact that SICARIO: DAY OF THE SOLDADO finishes with a scene that hints of another sequel and in a way that is disappointing to me because who knows if a third will be made or not (the first was however it achieved decent box office returns).

So, while this is one of the best sequels I have had the pleasure of watching, what is eating me the most is the open end that the film has which prevents me from giving it the top spot and claiming it to be as good as the previous installment. However, it is close.

For more movies Visit Gomovies.