Sicario - directed by Denis Villeneuve
Starring: Emily Blunt, Benicio Del Toro, Josh Brolin, Jon Bernthal, Victor Garber, Daniel Kaluuya, Jeffrey Donovan, Raoul Trujillo, Maximiliano Hernandez, Kim Larrichio
Running Time: 121 minutes
Rated: R16 - brutal, bloody violence, and profanity
Occasionally a movie comes along that appeals to me so strongly for so many reasons that I have to force myself to temper my expectations.
With "Sicario" not only do we have the terrific pairing of the equally wonderful Emily Blunt and Benicio Del Toro but the film itself is directed by Canadian director Denis Villeneuve.
This is the man who gave us the brilliant "Prisoners" starring Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Maria Bello, Viola Davis, Paul Dano and Terrence Howard.
It's a great, dark and thrilling movie that shows not only a talent with pacing, scene construction and sound but with casting.
With "Sicario" not only does Villeneuve bring Blunt and Del Toro but Josh Brolin ("No Country For Old Men" / "Everest"), Jon Bernthal ("Me & Earl & the Dying Girl" / "The Walking Dead"), Victor Garber ("Titanic" / "Alias") and Jeffrey Donovan ("The Changeling" / "Burn Notice")
And as this is an action packed tale of DEA agents taking on the drug cartels of Mexico and since I just watched the entire Netflix series "Narcos" my fascination with this subject is at an all time high.
So careful not to overhype this movie in my own mind before it had a chance to impress all on its own I checked out the latest work from the man who is soon to be helming a Bladerunner sequel.
Straight away the manner in which Villeneuve shot this film grabbed me.
Roger Deakins cinematography is typically exceptional but the editing and the shot selections are what really makes this movie pop.
Villeneuve is among the best visual storytellers of our time but his use of sound is also extraordinary.
Using near silence and subtle sound effects to bring suspense to proceedings one minute and then equally effectively a barrage of music the next this movie unnerves from the very start.
I loved the scene where FBI agent Kate Macer (Blunt) is flown to her first mission with the mysterious duo Matt (Brolin) and Alejandro (Del Toro) in a small aeroplane.
The shadow of the jet is shown cast across increasingly barren land - its shadowy form rolling over the mountains and into the valleys below as it winds its way forward.
Similarly another scene introduces the deafening boom of a Blackhawk helicopter a minute or so before it is introduced into the frame.
The brilliantly tense and effective convoy scene shown in the trailers features several black SUV's hurtling through the streets of Mexico to collect a prisoner.
Like the jet and the helicopter they represent a dangerous, impactful intrusion.
Villenueve makes the point well - these are dangerous people entering a place wrought with its own dangers.
In many ways "Sicario" is a tale of contrasts.
Kate and her partner Reggie (a very good Daniel Kaluuya) are always questioning Matt and Alejandro - always demanding to know what they are doing and why.
Kate wants to follow the rules but Matt has no interest in rules beyond figuring out how to bend or break them as effectively as possible.
When Kate seeks assurance that they are doing things correctly Matt lays bare her fears and informs her that their actions are authorised at the highest level.
The drug trade, the cartels and the US war against them are complex issues.
Some argue that it is a foolish endeavour and that the only way to remove power from the cartels and end the violence is to legitimise the product and remove the profit incentive.
Certainly this movie is less interested in this side than it is in the reality of the here and now.
How best should a war on the cartels be conducted given that that was the path taken?
Can the US play by the rules and hope to defeat a foe subject to no such restriction?
It's heavy stuff and Villeneuve and screenwriter Taylor Sheridan know it.
Every minute of this movie is imbued with a sense of dread.
A sequence set in smuggling tunnels at night is a prime example.
Using POV shots though thermal and night vision goggles it plays out almost like a horror movie.
The music by Icelandic composer Johann Johannsson who also scored "Prisoners" and "The Theory of Everything" really comes to the fore in this scene.
Credit to Blunt who possesses the range to transition easily between roles such as "Salmon Fishing In the Yemen" and "The Devil Wears Prada" to the likes of "Edge of Tomorrow" and "Sicario" seemingly with ease.
The cast are terrific to the last and as good as Blunt is it is Del Toro who owns this movie.
His mysterious Alejandro's motivations are left unknown for much of the film but when he takes centre stage they become apparent in startling fashion.
"Sicario" could scarcely be better. It is the work of a truly brilliant filmmaker at the top of his game.
Roger Deakins who shot "The Shawshank Redemption", "No Country For Old Men", "Skyfall" and "The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford" and will shoot Villeneuve's upcoming Blade Runner sequel provides stunning shot after stunning shot.
Not to take a thing away from the great work that Deakins does (as always) but without a director who knows what he is doing his work would all be for nothing. Of course it isn't and Villeneuve directs the hell out of this thing.
I was captivated from the very first frame.
By the visuals, the performances and the subject matter but also by the score, the sound and the sound effects editing.
And that is the sign of a man in total charge of a movie.
In a year in which we have already had the best Mission: Impossible movie to date and the masterpiece that is "Mad Max: Fury Road" I had no expectation of another movie as well made and as intensely exciting but in "Sicario" we have one.
Utterly great.
RATING: 86 / 100
CONCLUSION: A superb thriller that hardly puts s foot wrong. Confronting in content and presentation it is yet further evidence that Denis Villeneuve is one of the very best directors working today.
Running Time: 121 minutes
Rated: R16 - brutal, bloody violence, and profanity
Occasionally a movie comes along that appeals to me so strongly for so many reasons that I have to force myself to temper my expectations.
With "Sicario" not only do we have the terrific pairing of the equally wonderful Emily Blunt and Benicio Del Toro but the film itself is directed by Canadian director Denis Villeneuve.
This is the man who gave us the brilliant "Prisoners" starring Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Maria Bello, Viola Davis, Paul Dano and Terrence Howard.
It's a great, dark and thrilling movie that shows not only a talent with pacing, scene construction and sound but with casting.
With "Sicario" not only does Villeneuve bring Blunt and Del Toro but Josh Brolin ("No Country For Old Men" / "Everest"), Jon Bernthal ("Me & Earl & the Dying Girl" / "The Walking Dead"), Victor Garber ("Titanic" / "Alias") and Jeffrey Donovan ("The Changeling" / "Burn Notice")
And as this is an action packed tale of DEA agents taking on the drug cartels of Mexico and since I just watched the entire Netflix series "Narcos" my fascination with this subject is at an all time high.
So careful not to overhype this movie in my own mind before it had a chance to impress all on its own I checked out the latest work from the man who is soon to be helming a Bladerunner sequel.
Straight away the manner in which Villeneuve shot this film grabbed me.
Roger Deakins cinematography is typically exceptional but the editing and the shot selections are what really makes this movie pop.
Villeneuve is among the best visual storytellers of our time but his use of sound is also extraordinary.
Using near silence and subtle sound effects to bring suspense to proceedings one minute and then equally effectively a barrage of music the next this movie unnerves from the very start.
I loved the scene where FBI agent Kate Macer (Blunt) is flown to her first mission with the mysterious duo Matt (Brolin) and Alejandro (Del Toro) in a small aeroplane.
The shadow of the jet is shown cast across increasingly barren land - its shadowy form rolling over the mountains and into the valleys below as it winds its way forward.
Similarly another scene introduces the deafening boom of a Blackhawk helicopter a minute or so before it is introduced into the frame.
The brilliantly tense and effective convoy scene shown in the trailers features several black SUV's hurtling through the streets of Mexico to collect a prisoner.
Like the jet and the helicopter they represent a dangerous, impactful intrusion.
Villenueve makes the point well - these are dangerous people entering a place wrought with its own dangers.
 |
| Emily Blunt as Kate Macer |
Kate and her partner Reggie (a very good Daniel Kaluuya) are always questioning Matt and Alejandro - always demanding to know what they are doing and why.
Kate wants to follow the rules but Matt has no interest in rules beyond figuring out how to bend or break them as effectively as possible.
When Kate seeks assurance that they are doing things correctly Matt lays bare her fears and informs her that their actions are authorised at the highest level.
The drug trade, the cartels and the US war against them are complex issues.
Some argue that it is a foolish endeavour and that the only way to remove power from the cartels and end the violence is to legitimise the product and remove the profit incentive.
Certainly this movie is less interested in this side than it is in the reality of the here and now.
How best should a war on the cartels be conducted given that that was the path taken?
Can the US play by the rules and hope to defeat a foe subject to no such restriction?
It's heavy stuff and Villeneuve and screenwriter Taylor Sheridan know it.
Every minute of this movie is imbued with a sense of dread.
 |
| Benicio Del Toro |
Using POV shots though thermal and night vision goggles it plays out almost like a horror movie.
The music by Icelandic composer Johann Johannsson who also scored "Prisoners" and "The Theory of Everything" really comes to the fore in this scene.
Credit to Blunt who possesses the range to transition easily between roles such as "Salmon Fishing In the Yemen" and "The Devil Wears Prada" to the likes of "Edge of Tomorrow" and "Sicario" seemingly with ease.
The cast are terrific to the last and as good as Blunt is it is Del Toro who owns this movie.
His mysterious Alejandro's motivations are left unknown for much of the film but when he takes centre stage they become apparent in startling fashion.
"Sicario" could scarcely be better. It is the work of a truly brilliant filmmaker at the top of his game.
Roger Deakins who shot "The Shawshank Redemption", "No Country For Old Men", "Skyfall" and "The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford" and will shoot Villeneuve's upcoming Blade Runner sequel provides stunning shot after stunning shot.
Not to take a thing away from the great work that Deakins does (as always) but without a director who knows what he is doing his work would all be for nothing. Of course it isn't and Villeneuve directs the hell out of this thing.
I was captivated from the very first frame.
By the visuals, the performances and the subject matter but also by the score, the sound and the sound effects editing.
And that is the sign of a man in total charge of a movie.
In a year in which we have already had the best Mission: Impossible movie to date and the masterpiece that is "Mad Max: Fury Road" I had no expectation of another movie as well made and as intensely exciting but in "Sicario" we have one.
Utterly great.
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