Review of Sicario (2015) by Joshua G — 27 Mar 2017

The first scene of Sicario, following a small intro translating Sicario as 'hitman' is a haunting and confronting one, different setting, style and colours aside you can immediately tell Denis Villenueve has left his mark here and this scene sets the tone and feeling expertly for the rest of the film.

Although all around great; I think movie lacks most in its dialogue (a terrific screenplay by Taylor Sheridan overall). The story is there and the slack is picked up by directors, editors and the cinematographer Roger Deakins; who completely elevates the film visually. That said gets a little hard to follow when the only info you're getting is quick yaps between characters here and there. That aside, the directorial style and the strong performances drive this film otherwise. Benicio Del Toro is brilliant and the most interesting character, Josh Brolin does very well and Jon Bernthal is excellent as always in what he is given. Emily Blunt as the protagonist seems to get a little lost and doesn't seem to be the best character to be following but as the story plays out this begins to make more sense and work in her favour.

I felt that Sicario starts very strong, keeps building throughout with much tension, drops off a little in the 3rd quarter but comes together tightly for a brilliant finish.