After watching Arrival and Blade runner 2049, two of director Denis Villeneuve's most high profile films, I was surprised to find Sicario on his Filmography page on IMDb. It was a film I had heard of before, but I had lumped it in with the stream of bargain brand crime/drama/thrillers that seem to have been perpetually released in the past couple of years. Despite my hesitance towards the crime genre, I gave it shot, and was surprised to find a masterfully woven web of death, deception, and destruction, rather than the standard straightforward story about getting the "bad guys" that I was expecting. In Sicario, Emily Blunt (Edge of Tomorrow, The Devil Wears Prada) plays an FBI agent, and the leader of a kidnap response team. Her career takes a sharp turn when she gets thrust into a task force led by Matt and Alejandro, played by Josh Brolin (No Country for Old Men, True Grit) and Benicio Del Toro (The Usual Suspects, Star Wars: The Last Jedi) respectively, to aid in the war on drugs on the border of Mexico and the U.S. Unclear of why exactly her and her partner, played by Daniel Kaluuya (Get Out, Black Panther), are involved in the mission, she sets out to uncover the true motives of the two task force leaders.
On just a technical standpoint, the film is absolutely gorgeous, as is expected from a Denis Villeneuve movie. Every single shot seems like the director deliberated for hours on how to perfectly stage the scene. Although the technical aspects are a bonus, they are not the best part of this film. It is packed to the brim with twists and shocking moments that will surprise even the most avid filmgoers. The direction of Villeneuve as well as the suitably excellent performances from such veteran actors serve to create a sense of dread and suspicion that sticks with you long after the film is over. It is unfortunate that Sicario came out in a time when crime movies are so common, considering its superiority. It also suffers from having one of those awful posters that feels like it has to pack in the faces of all of the famous actors, so that it just looks like garbled nonsense. I would definitely recommend this film to anyone who feels worn out by crime movies. This film also supports Denis Villeneuve in my opinion as one of the best currently working filmmakers.
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