SICARIO Is An Exhilarating Crime Thriller

I figured this film was going to be good considering Lionsgate announced yesterday that they are already planning a sequel. With that firmly in my mind, I sat down eager to watch a typical FBI film that probably just had a very open ending. I was pleasantly surprised. As someone who isn’t a fan of war or cop dramas, I didn’t expect I’d enjoy this as much as I did. Sicario is paced so wonderfully and so real, you don’t need to be a fan of the genre to like it. It keeps your attention the whole time, and most of that time you are stressed out.

Emily Blunt plays FBI agent Kate. As part of a hostage rescue unit, she is put right in the center of a drug war. Her team uncovers a massive body count in an Arizona neighborhood, all victims of a dangerous Mexican drug lord whom no one seems to know too much about. She is asked to “volunteer” for the special task force who’s sole mission is to find this man, by any means.

As a viewer, you are sort of placed in the mind of Kate. She is fairly unaware of what is going on and so are you. Not much information is given to her and the whole op is very secretive. She meets Alejandro (Benicio Del Toro), who is a very tough character to figure out. He is considered a specialist, an aid to the team, but Kate can’t quite figure out if he is good or bad.

Kate struggles between wanting to help the team after seeing the devastation in the ghettos of Mexico, but the unorthodox methods used by the entire team are making her feel uneasy. She begins to question everyones motives.

Emily Blunt really stands out in this movie. It’s a far cry from her character in Edge of Tomorrow. In this film, she is not the action hero. For her, it’s more of psychological thriller. The chemistry she has with everyone she acts besides is so believable. From the relationship with her FBI partner to her hesitant relationship with Del Toro, all is very real.

The movie, as a whole, is just beautifully done. The cinematography is fantastic. Every scene is shot in a way that serves the scenes purpose. In most films of this nature, you see a lot of fast camera work and a lot of cuts. There is no shaking cams even in the midst of huge gun fights. I highly recommend this film if you enjoy serious movies. The film itself is already getting Oscar buzz, so I suggest checking it out.