Sicario

The badlands of the US - Mexico border and the viciousness of the drug trade running across it sets the background and the tone for this movie. It's grim. Human life is very cheap and the movie doesn't flinch from showing consequences. There are definitely some scenes that are not for the faint hearted, but there is nothing gratuitous here. If anything - despite the subject matter - the film goes out of its way to avoid Hollywood heroics.

Emily Blunt does an amazing job portraying Kate Macy, a career policewoman heading a SWAT team. Her accent slips slightly a couple of times, but otherwise she's utterly believable as born and raised in the deep south of the US. Kate is a fundamentally decent, honorable human being, trying to the right thing in a world where the rule book doesn't seem to work any more. She's smart, tough, and experienced - but right from the start of the movie, it's clear that she's in over her head.

The tension never lets up. An attack could come at any moment, from any direction. Anything could be a trap. All of it, no matter how extreme something is, plays as real. The director manages scenes expertly to avoid any clean and easy action movie clichés, and it pays off enormously as the movie goes on.

It's also a highly intelligent movie, made for an intelligent audience. It doesn't lay things out on a plate. Instead you have to pay attention and you have to think, just as Kate has to - because her first mistake could be her last.

Staging, costuming, sets, cinematography, and lighting are all perfect. Some airborne shots in particular stand out as both daring and stunningly original, clearly showing just how harsh the landscape is, while managing to propel the story forward - without showing anyone, no less. This part of the movie is in the "As good as it gets" category. The only part that I didn't like (and the reason that this doesn't get a 10 from me) was the music. It's used deliberately to heighten tension during some scenes which would otherwise break the feel of the movie, and generally it's done well, but some scenes are spoiled with a There Will Be Blood styled screech. It's really not needed, especially since Sicario's own score manages to build or maintain tension quite successfully in other parts of the movie while remaining low-key.

To my mind, this is much more of a drama than it is a thriller. It's certainly not an action movie. The acting from the support cast is exactly what it needs to be - good in general, and great when a minor character is the focal point - but look closely at how much Benicio del Toro manages to do with no dialogue and not even all that much movement. Simply amazing.

This is a great movie to see if you want to be challenged.

NO ONE does the "strong and silent type" like Benicio, and Josh Brolin was the cherry on the top, absolutely superb in the role. The only actor that I thought was miscast was Emily Blunt. Although she tried her best, she looks more like a Sunday school teacher than a professional killer in body armor and combat boots. I think she is more disposed to more "ladylike" roles as opposed to parts like this. I also thought that her dialogue was also woefully unbelievable. Coldblooded, paramilitary killers are supposed to simply keep their mouth shut and follow orders, not to question the motives of their superiors. From her very first moments on screen, she begins to question her orders, something no black op that I know of would ever do. The very nature of the job requires both unerring duty and silence, not unending doubts regarding the wisdom of their actions, which is why it is called, "chain of command." These were the characteristics of a tenderfoot, not an experienced foot soldier, and for me, the only weakness of the film.

Probably the best cinematography of this whole year. Roger Deakins is an absolute maestro. Music and sound combo of the movie added to the tension. Johann Johannsson's score is another exciting driving force upon which the film is carried. It was powerful. Incredible action-thriller. It was extremely dark. Not color wise, but the subject matter. Villeneuve really knows how to take the most vile subjects and turn them into intense n dark cinema. The acting was top notch especially Del Toro. He is comfortable with this sort of material and it really shows. I hav always been a fan of Brolin after no country for old men. His character was so relaxed n mean with those slip ons quiet opposite to del toro's who u slowly get to know as the movie unfolds. Del toro's character was emotionless and relentless. It is his best performance to date. The only scene i couldn't digest was the dinner scene. I turned my eyes n was shocked for few mins.

This is like the stuff you see on hour long serialized Television like Netflix's Narcos, but instead this police like drama is done in a two hour movie instead of thirteenth episodes.

Emily Blunt was amazing in her character, a good FBI agent who feels she's not doing enough on the streets and allows herself to get used by someone with more power, played by Josh Brolin brilliantly as a man who seems uncharismatic about his job in order to hide the covert nature of his mission to find the big man responsible for all the street crime.

Brolin played a necessary evil, that comes off brilliantly in the narrative that plays out. Loved how they go from the bottom and get to the very top. It's very surgical.

But the actor who stole the show in Sicario is Benicio del Toro whose character Alejandro, is a cloud of mystery that unravels slowly through the film, done both subtle and dramatic by Del Toro. Every time he was on the screen even when he did nothing he was doing something and you he demanded your attention.

Plus the music and sound combo of the movie added to the tension. it was powerful.

Incredible action-thriller.

Hard to find a thriller like Sicario these days , watch it! My thought is that a good Thriller title is the hardest case you can go for as a movie maker .A good thriller has to keep you hooked and in tense for the whole movie ,worst case for most of the movie.Sicario manages to provide the right amount of thrill and action in a way it keeps you interested through all of the time.Sure it had its flaws and sometimes i was a little disappointed with the decision the writers made with this one but when i look at the whole picture its coming up as a very good film , i honestly couldn't stop watching and was a little sad when it was over. I must say though that this movie has a political opinions in it that you cant overlook and it can be a little con for some viewers. Overall , this movie is truly a gem to Hollywood industry right now , very well written and directed plus it has outstanding cast.