Sicario: Day of the
Soldado ** ½ / *****
Directed by: Stefano Sollima.
Written by: Taylor Sheridan.
Starring: Josh Brolin (Matt Graver),
Benicio Del Toro (Alejandro Gillick), Isabela Moner (Isabela Reyes), Catherine
Keener (Cynthia Foards), Matthew Modine (James Ridley), Jeffrey Donovan (Steve
Forsing), Christopher Heyerdahl (Headmaster Deats), Ian Bohen (Carson Wright), Manuel
Garcia-Rulfo (Gallo), Jake Picking (Shawn), Bruno Bichir (Angel), Faysal Ahmed (Bashiir),
David Castañeda (Hector), Shea Whigham (Andy Wheeldon), Elijah Rodriguez
(Miguel Hernandez)
Sicario:
Day of the Soldado plays like those mid-season episodes of serialized
television, after the big reveal at the midpoint of the season, but before the
big season finale when the only real purpose is to advance the story for what
is going to happen next. There is nothing surprising in the film, we don’t
learn anything new about the characters we already know, none of the new
characters really add anything, and by the end of the film you’re more
interested in what is going to happen next, rather than what you just watched.
This is thoroughly depressing for me, as it indicates that the franchise model
of filmmaking is now stretching well beyond superhero and Star Wars films – and
is now in more serious films as well – where the point of movies is becoming
more about what comes next.
A
surprise sequel to Denis Villeneuve’s 2015 film Sicario (which didn’t need one)
sees the jettisoning of Emily Blunt’s Kate Macer completed as she isn’t even in
this film. A common complaint I saw about the original is how she doesn’t
figure into the climax of the film, but that was by design – she was needed by
the men in the movie because her being there allowed them to operate where they
shouldn’t have been allowed to operate, but they didn’t really want her there –
it made complete sense from a plot point of view to not have her in the finale.
As for the sequel, she is sorely missed, because she really was the humanizing
face of the film – the one character you felt for and liked, as the film slowly
revealed what monsters everyone else was. In the sequel, Josh Brolin’s Matt
Graver is the focus – and this time, he doesn’t get to be the laid back guy
Jeff Bridges would have played 20 years ago, who reveals slowly how horrible he
is, he’s horrible from the outset – and by not giving him any real shading, he
becomes slightly boring to watch, no matter how good Brolin is playing him (and
his final actions in the film make no sense for his character – other than the
need for a plot for a third film). Benicio Del Toro’s Alejandro – the lawyer
whose entire family was murdered by the cartels – is back this time, and still
a sympathetic killing machine – he may have become a monster, but he’s still a
monster with a conscience. He’s the most interesting character in this film,
and yet, like with Brolin we don’t really learn anything new about him we
didn’t know by the end of the first film.
The
plot of the film concerns the Presidential Administration (clearly NOT Trump
since it’s mentioned at some point he’s worried about impeachment, and Trump
lacks any such concerns no matter what the hell he does) deciding to crack down
on the Cartels after a terrorist attack in Kansas City is carried about by
Muslims smuggled in by the coyotes (or so they think). The President wants to
declare Cartels terrorist organizations – which will give them more power to
attack them. What they want though is the Cartels weakened as well – so they
decide to covertly start a war between them, by killing a lawyer, and
kidnapping the daughter of a Cartel leader – Isabela (Isabela Moner). It’s this
kidnapping – that of course goes horribly wrong – that makes up the bulk of the
film. There is also a subplot involving a normal Mexican-American teenager who
lives in a border town Miguel Hernandez (Elijah Rodriguez) who slowly gets
sucked into the life of smuggling people across the border.
There
is a lot of setup in Sicario: Day of the Soldado – and not a lot of payoff. It
takes a good 40 minutes or so for Del Toro’s Alejandro to show up at all, and
then almost another hour to get to the heart of the film – which finds
Alejandro and Graver on opposite sides of the border, and opposite sides of the
fight. Until then, there is a lot of sitting in rooms – or cars – explaining
what everyone is going to do, and then doing it. Villeneuve is not back as
director – that falls to Stefano Sollima – who tries his best to recreate the
look and feel of the first film, but lacks Villeneuve’s talent (and
cinematographer. Roger Deakins), so it feels more like a pale imitation than the
real thing. Writer Taylor Sheridan is back – but the film lacks the nuance of
his other work – not just in Sicario, but in Hell or High Water or Wind River
as well.
The
film just feels like a placeholder more than anything else. Not bad per se, but
just a film waiting for something more interesting to happen. There was talk of
a third film before this one even came out – even hinting Blunt’s character
would be back (nothing would make me happier) – but this film just feels like
all filler – you wait for something to happen, and then it just ends.
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