Sicario: Day Of The Soldado

Year: 2018
Director: Stefano Sollima
Cast: Benicio Del Toro, Josh Brolin, Isabela Moner, Catherine Keener, Jeffrey Donovan, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Miguel Hernandez, Bruno Bichir


Plot: A terrorist attack in Kansas prompts the US government to seek CIA agent Matt Graver's help in finding the men responsible. He discovers that the Mexican cartel smuggled them into the country, and teams up with Alejandro again to start a war between the cartels by kidnapping the daughter of one of the cartel's heads. But the plan goes south real quick.


Review: I wasn't as thrilled as everyone else who loved the first Sicario, due to the fact that the plot seemed really ambiguous throughout the film, though it certainly earned points from me in terms of cinematography, direction and violence. In this sequel, the plot is much clearer though it's not without its own flaws.

Stepping in for Denis Villeneuve is director Stefano Sollima, working with writer Taylor Sheridan who also penned the original. Without Roger Deakins for cinematography, we are denied the opportunity to watch some really nice shots, though cinematographer Dariusz Wolski does a fine job in his own right, filming the action and violence very well. Sollima paces the film a bit better than Villeneuve and reveals the plot solidly, though the ending is a bit of a letdown.

Without Emily Blunt as the audience surrogate, Benicio Del Toro takes over as the hero of this story, leaning more towards white than being rather grey in the first film, though he still proves he can be ruthless as ever. Josh Brolin, being on a roll this year with Infinity War and Deadpool 2, keeps it coming strong as Graver, and like Alejandro, also shows a somewhat softer side here. Isabela Moner (from Transformers: The Last Knight) shows some promise as the cartel head's daughter.

Even though this sequel doesn't have the same level of suspense that Villeneuve generated in the first film, it still has its fair share of thrills as Sollima throws in a handful of shootouts and a disturbing terror attack in a department store at the start of the film. As mentioned, the ending is a downer as it leads to probably another instalment to end the trilogy.

In the end, Sicario: Day Of The Soldado is a strong follow up to the original. For me, it compliments the first film by succeeding where the former faltered despite being weaker where the former was stronger. Hopefully the third film will end this on a high. (7/10)