As good as action films get

Rating: 8/10 (21 October 2015)

This is as good as a film of this type gets. The easiest film to compare with Sicario is Traffic. Both were flawlessly acted and directed and revolve around the same subject-matter, though from different perspectives. I imagine Sicario is as clear, deep, and honest a view into the world of the Mexican/American drug trade and the USA's dysfunctional "war on drugs" as we can get. No simple good-guys or bad-guys. No master-plan. Just a bunch of flawed individuals and institutions doing the best they can to resist the ugly reality of the society we live in, where drugs are a symptom of larger problems that may never be resolved. The characters are magnetic and deep. The music is phenomenal and eerie. The story is brilliant and complex, and Benicio Del Toro is an absolute shoe-in for best supporting actor (again). Everyone else is equally good, but his role is a rare gem, and if he deserved it for his role in Traffic, he is a lock for his role in Sicario.