Sicario: Day of the Soldado – Film Review

Sicario was a film that I thought was well done by Denis Villeneuve. It wasn’t one of my favorites but I enjoyed what the ride was in the first film. I was surprised that they went through with making a sequel. This film does feel like a stand alone sequel which I did appreciate but does fall into the traps of adding a few plot elements that clearly set up a third film. Josh Brolin and Benicio del Toro own this film with their performances. Matthew Modine and Catherine Keener have small roles that don’t have much depth beyond generic stereotypes.

I was a fan of Isabela Moner’s character. At first she comes off as unlikeable and kind of cliche, but her character grew on me. I didn’t see that they were going to focus so much on her character in the second act and the way the film made a left turn into something else from what it started off as being a commentary on the terrorism crisis globally. I was really enjoying the social commentary on how do terrorists from the Middle East get into America and them crossing the border from Mexico via the drug cartels was fascinating.

So you want to be a Sicario… come on in… close the door

Out of the two children the little boy who is focused on in the film I felt didn’t contribute much to the story and I wasn’t a huge fan of his storyline. I understood where they were going with it but it just felt like too much of filler to a more focused film. The focus of the film in the beginning was so strong with showing bombings in American department stores. Those are hard images to forget.

I would say that this film is entertaining enough to be on the big screen but it isn’t required viewing to see immediately. What I will say is that this film felt very small and personal with some great character moments with Benicio del Toro and Isabela Moner’s characters relationship becomes the soul of the movie. There is some great tension and action scenes, but nothing topping the first film.

7.5/10