Derek Winnert

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This article was written on 27 Jun 2018, and is filled under Reviews.

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Sicario 2: Soldado **** (2018, Benicio Del Toro, Josh Brolin, Isabela Moner, Catherine Keener, Matthew Modine) – Movie Review

Very strong, extremely powerful action thriller that actually thrills, Del Toro and Brolin excellent, some great set pieces, a huge body count and astounding visuals.

Italian director Stefano Sollima’s Sicario 2: Soldado [aka Sicario: Day of the Soldado] is a very strong, extremely powerful, heart-pounding action crime thriller that actually thrills, as well as sometimes terrifies. Its story and situations feel topical, sharp, current and non-stop relentless.

Benicio Del Toro and Josh Brolin are both excellent as renegade federal agent Matt Graver and the mercurial, vengeance-seeking Alejandro he re-teams with after the events in Sicario. They are the whole film, easily and convincingly inhabiting the space. With their world-weary demeanours and care-worn faces, they look and sound exactly right. It helps a lot that these two are such very good, uniquely flavoured actors, not just action stars.

Suicide bombers attack a US supermarket, and, prompted by outraged US Defense Secretary James Riley (Matthew Modine), FBI boss Cynthia Foards (Catherine Keener) sends Graver in to tackle the Mexican cartels trafficking terrorists across the US border. Graver’s plan is to set off a gang war in Mexico. But soon Graver and Alejandro are left holding the baby, cartel boss Reyes’s school age daughter Isabel. She is dangerous cargo.

The film all seems to be about the fate of a girl, and in some ways it is, but finally it reveals its hand a being about a boy, fledgling gang member Miguel Hernandez (Elijah Rodriguez), whose fate is inextricably linked with that of Alejandro. The film also seems like it is Graver’s story, and in some ways it is, giving Brolin the main role for some time, but then it turns out that it is Alejandro’s story, giving Del Toro the main role for much of the time at the extended climax.

Sicario 2 also boasts some tremendous action set pieces, a huge body count and astounding visuals on fresh locations (Albuquerque NM and Mexico City, Mexico). There are four slightly irritating downsides: the relentless droning of the score, some realist mumbling by actors that drowns out the dialogue, a slightly improbable storyline and the unresolved ending setting up Sicario 3. You have to keep your wits about you, and pay lots of attention, especially at the start, though after a while it turns out the story is quite simple and straightforward.

But these are small, minor downsides, and, otherwise, this is a great, occasionally brilliant, movie for intelligent grown-ups heading relentlessly to the winning post. The series is certainly shaping up to be the Mexican Godfather.

© Derek Winnert Classic Movie Review

Check out more reviews on http://derekwinnert.com

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