"In Mexico, Sicario means hit-man."

Rating: 9/10 (28 September 2015)

Sicario is one of the darkest experiences I've had with a film since watching Se7en for the first time. However, this is also one of the best directed films of the entire year with outstanding performances from its main cast, as well as lush cinematography throughout its two hour runtime.
This film was directed by Denis Villeneuve, the director of one of my top five favorite films of 2013, Prisoners. With Prisoners, Villeneuve proved how skillful he was with creating suspense through his direction. Here in Sicario, he solidifies himself as a master of tension. The film has an excellent buildup where scene-after-scene the film gets better, gets more suspenseful the longer the film runs.
One thing that struck me about the way Sicario looked was that nighttime actually looked like it was nighttime. Something very common with films is that there's always weird lighting on actor's faces whenever a nighttime shot is being filmed. In this movie though, I never thought that a single time. And that just shows how brilliant cinematographer Roger Deakins as director of photography. I don't know how he did it, but it its absolutely gorgeous.
Emily Blunt is spectacular as an idealistic FBI agent who is recruited to pursue the leader of a major cartel in Mexico. This is the best work I've seen from her. We experience the film from her perspective, and the shock and bewilderment we see her experience, from the environment she's in, to certain things that take place, is where the emotional core of the film sits with the viewer. Josh Brolin does great work as an extremely likable agent who likes to relax, maybe doesn't always play by the rules, but is very good at his job. However, Benicio Del Toro is the best part about this movie. I'm not going to say much about his character, but I will say that he is truly Oscar-worthy in this film, and his performance is absolutely magnetic.
Like Se7en, there is no hope to be found in Sicario. Everywhere you see these characters go, you're disgusted and haunted by what you see. Like the unknown land these characters cross into, you have no idea where the border is between right or wrong, black or white. Instead, everything falls into the gray area, and as a result, there are no limits on what these characters will do, and that is scary.
Sicario has some of the best performances of the year, incredible cinematography, and, in my opinion, shows that Denis Villeneuve is one of the best directors working today, and now I can't wait for Blade Runner 2. This film goes into wide release this Friday, so go see it, because it's among the best films of the year so far.