US drama in which a federal agent and his partner tackle the Mexican drug cartels' control of people trafficking across the US/Mexico border and its apparent links to the importation of terrorists onto US soil.
Thrillingly paced, ravishingly shot and eerily topical, Sicario 2 retains much of its predecessor’s dark charm despite its shuffled creative personnel. But a jarringly Hollywood ending dulls its overall impact.
A robust follow-up, which carries the same brooding atmosphere and tension of the original. The young cast additions are also excellent.
When Soldado works, though, it soars, holding your breath hostage in a way most films yearn to pull off. It's hard to gauge how appealing Sicario films would be without the allure of del Toro but it's to his credit alongside the promisingly talented Sollima that they have made something so brutal so watchable.
The new film may not match its predecessor but it retains most of the elements which made the first Sicario so successful.
Peak Del Toro. Otherwise rattles along without doing or saying anything particularly new.
Although there are concessions to compassion, it never really convinces itself, or us, to care.
This movie channels the paranoia and bad faith that’s in the air at the moment and converts it into a thriller of visceral hostility and overwhelming nihilism. It’s all killer, no filler.
Without the knotty dynamic afforded by the outsider’s view of Blunt’s by-the-book FBI agent, we are markedly less invested in the story.
General release. Check local listings for show times.
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