Sicario Review

Rating: 8/10 (1 November 2015)

"You're asking me how the watch is made. For now just keep your eye on the time."
SPOILER FREE ZONE
Sicario stars Emily Blunt, Benicio Del Toro and Josh Brolin in an intense crime drama about drugs on the border of the US and Mexico. It is directed beautifully by Denis Villeneuve who directed Prisoners. From his IMDb page I could tell what type of movie to expect.
These types of movies rely on the performances of the main actors as well as the story, more than the big action sequences that we often get from big budget movies. Sicario very much falls into that category. That being said the cinematography of this movie is stunning. Every shot was visually pleasing/horrifying to great effect. It showed a very real representation of Mexico through its decades long cartel wars. The colour tone fit well with the pacing and story being told. But that's where Sicario didn't sit well with me as much as I hoped. It felt very slow and dragged in some scenes. I didn't care much for the story until it got to the big scenes (you'll know the scenes when you watch it). However a lot of that is made up by the phenomenal acting performances by the three leads of the movie.
Emily Blunt is quickly becoming a highly regarded action/thriller actress and I think this role pushed her over the edge of being one of the best actresses in Hollywood. That being said, she may have been the lead of this cast but she was out shone by the other two. Josh Brolin has really grown on me as of late. He shows his ability to play more than just a one dimensional character throughout Sicario. Now let me get to Benicio Del Toro. My goodness this guy is phenomenal. He deserves to at least get nominated for an Oscar at this stage. Every time his face is shown on screen, you can feel the intensity from his facial expression (even when he has shades on). Not enough praise can be given to his performance and that is for me what made the movie.
SCORE: 7.5/10
SPOILERS GALORE
There isn't much to spoil in Sicario. There are a few scenes which stand out; the raid, the border crossing scene, the tunnel sequence and the dinner scene. By far the one the one I remember most is the dinner scene. I was already at the edge of my seat at that point but that one basically had me jumping of it. Again Del Toro played it brilliantly.
If your looking for a thriller with brilliant acting at some beautiful cinematography, Sicario is a must watch.
SCORE: 7.5/10