Eventually A Penetrating Look At The Dark Side

Rating: 8/10 (13 January 2019)

13 May 2016. With strong elements from Traffic (2000) in which Benecio Del Toro won a best support actor Oscar and again gets to star in Sicario in a somewhat different role, Emily Blunt becomes our eyes and ears in this dark criminal drama. There are some great intense scenes that the audience participants in as observers to the efforts to make a difference in the war on drugs. Sicario has taken some hard-hitting actions scenes from Phillip Noyce's Clear and Present Danger (1994), Tony Scott's Spy Game (2001), and even Kathryn Bigelow's The Hurt Locker (2008).
There are some weaknesses that appear in this movie. Emily Blunt's character without any character development seems to lack the depth of character to establish her persona and role that she presents on the screen. By the end of the movie, though, it becomes quite clear that even without Blunt's depth of character and backstory how the painful moral dilemma arose and becomes a sharp dagger against some's throat. There is a lack of balance between the American and Mexican characters, especially the important role of the Mexican police officer that is highlighted in the movie. There is also some fine landscape photography, especially of a jet taking off, but missing a similar opportunity to experience the wondrous sensation of its landing too. Finally, the mainstream photography of a high quality production seems to actually diminish the raw, jagged hard edge of the undertone of the movie.
Even so, this movie as a whole is reflects a good attempt at pushing the envelope in quality, innovative ways of transporting the audience into the war zone of America's drug war.