Sicario: Day of the Soldado Review by Gordon Stamper, Jr.
Viewers who experienced Denis Villenuve's Sicario saw a timely morality play about the bloody war on our southern border's doorstep that also worked as a gripping action thriller. The latest related film continues to follow the characters Alejandro (Benicio Del Toro) and Matt Graver (Josh Brolin) on another amoral mission, which doesn't have as much pessimistic dread as the original, but generally makes up for it in suspenseful action sequences with high stakes.
Two terrorist acts have been committed on American soil, and it appears that the terrorists have been smuggled across the Mexican border. Graver is called in to interrogate suspects and organize a tactical team to disrupt the drug cartels' trafficking of illegal immigrants (and more importantly to the U.S. government, the influx of terrorists). Alejandro, government sicario/hitman for hire, is recruited by Graver in a plot to kidnap a drug lord's teen daughter Isabel Reyes (Isabela Moner) and trigger a chaotic war among cartels.
What follows involves several memorable action set pieces from director Stephano Sollima (Gomorrah) and cinematographer Dariusz Wolski (The Martian, Prometheus) in which the main characters are pummeled with constant threats from often unexpected sources. Some are set in real-life controversy sites such as McAllen, Texas. It builds to a climax that has one shock wave of violence after another.
The difference makers preventing this from being stock action sequel material are the acting and the generally intelligent scripting from returning screenwriter Taylor Sheridan. Del Toro, the omniscient in 2018 Brolin, and newcomer Moner wear the necessary fear and weariness well, and Jeffrey Donovan, Catherine Keener, Matthew Modine, and Elijah Rodriguez as a young, wannabe sicario, fill out an able supporting troupe. Enough intertwining plot threads and effective twists demand audience attention.
Although not in the modern day classic league of Sicario, the follow up has its own merits. Adult filmgoers who seek a provocative and timely thriller have a solid movie option with Day of the Soldado.
My rating: ***1/2 out of ****.
Columbia Pictures presents Sicario: Day of the Soldado. Rated "R" for extreme violence and language. Starring Benicio Del Toro, Josh Brolin, Isabela Moner, Jeffrey Donovan, Catherine Keener, Matthew Modine, and Elijah Rodriguez. Written by Taylor Sheridan. Directed by Stephano Sollima. Playing in wide release as of June 29, 2018.
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