Why So Blu?

Cross The Border To Check Out ‘Sicario’ (Movie Review)

Sicario is one of those titles that when the press screening invite hit my inbox I immediately fist pumped the air and screamed “oh hell yeah.”  There was just something about the theatrical trailer (in particular that hallway of dead bodies behind the walls), never mind my love for Villeneuve’s Prisoners, that instantly sucked me in and had me believing without a shadow of a doubt that I was really going to love this one.  Does that even make any sense?  It does to me, but I digress.  So while the rumor mill has Lionsgate already eagerly working on a sequel to Sicario, let’s not put the cart in front of the horses.  We still need to tackle one very important subject here first and foremost.  What’s that your wondering?  Well, the movie review of the first Sicario of course.  So here we go…

I kind of already let the cat out of the bag about Denis Villeneuve.  So let’s start with him first.  He directed Sicario off a script written by Taylor Sheridan.  The film stars major Hollywood players Emily Blunt, Beniccio del Toro, Josh Brolin, Jon Bernthal and Victor Garber, just to name a few.  It seems if you’re privileged and you live in select areas, Sicario has already been available to you since the 18th this month.  However, for the rest of us, you’ll get treated on October 2nd.  And now, we have a movie to discuss.  Follow me in…

 So the movie goes a little something like this.  Let’s just say that the governmental department lines get a little blurred here as things don’t seem right for FBI agent Kate Macer (Blunt).  Sure, she thinks she’s on the right side of the law attempting to get justice for the events that kick off the film, but is she really?  Do people working around here have the government’s best interests in mind or their own?  That ladies and gentlemen is why I love Sicario.  There’s no clear black and white with this flick, everything and everyone involved is a shade of gray.  Who’s right and who’s wrong?  Well, I guess that all depends upon what’s in your best interest.  This probably isn’t helping you out in telling you what Sicario is all about is it?  Haha!  I’m being very vague and wish-washy on purpose because I want y’all to see it.

As my title of this review alludes to, the meat and potatoes of Sicario has to deal with Mexico.  That’s not to say things don’t go boom in the night up here in the States, but you already know from the trailers there’s a war going on between four parties really: the United States, the Mexican State police, the Mexican Federal Police and of course the big, bad Mexican cartel.  So when our honorable Kate finds herself in the middle of all this you would think she would be all pro-USA, right?  Well, one has to question why is she really there?  I know I did practically all movie long.  She is kind of made to volunteer for a joint task force to track down a drug lord south of the border.  Now what she doesn’t know is this.  The lines of justice aren’t always what they seem.  Someone always has their own agenda, don’t they?  The meaning of the word “sicario” means hitman within this movie.  You draw your own conclusions there, but like I said…go see this one!  A sequel is already brewing like I told you already.

Sicario had a little No Country For Old Men kind of vibe going on for me so that kind of won me over right from the beginning.  However, what I really love about this flick is the ultra-realism.  It doesn’t pretend to be something it’s not.  It shows you the harshness of the drug war on both sides of the border, no matter how gruesome it is.  They do cut away from certain grotesque scenes that involve torture, but for the most part Sicario is right in your face and I love it so for that.  It’s suspenseful, thrilling and most importantly, like modern day war flicks The Kingdom or even Zero Dark Thirty, the action is visceral and raw.  You always hear stories about how terrible life is in certain places across the border, and thankfully Sicario shows you firsthand that not every thing is just a story…it’s reality.  It’s a dangerous place down there and that war torn, ravaged backdrop simply ups the ante for the riveting, but twisted story of justice and revenge here.

Before we go, let’s give credit where it’s deserved.  The performances throughout, at least for me, were spot on spectacular and convincing.  Villeneuve uses Sheridan’s script and weaves a fantastical look at a problem facing our country complete with intricate cinematography, mysterious characters who keep us guessing and mind-bending moments that you may or may not see coming.  I know I definitely want to experience it all over again.  Where the sequel can go is anybody’s guess, although I have a pretty good idea, but nevertheless the film holds its own as a strong, stable and standalone one.  I could care less about any talk of a sequel.  Sicario by itself has my full undivided attention as a single, cohesive piece of work.  There’s good cop-bad cop and everything else I love in a thriller that ticks like a bomb.  When is it going to blow up?  Who knows!  But that’s the fun factor in this one!  Enjoy!

Brian White

Owner/Writer/Reviewer/Editor, Dreamer, Producer, Agent of Love, Film Lover, Writer of Screenplays and a Devoted Apostle to all things Ford Mustangs (the real ones with V8's!). Some of my favorite films include FIGHT CLUB, MOULIN ROUGE, THE DARK KNIGHT, STAR WARS alongside television shows such as SEINFELD, 24, SANFORD & SON and even the often loathed in the geek community BIG BANG THEORY. Outside of my three lives I live I also enjoy spending time with my girlfriend and our three girls (of the furry kind).