Fantastic suspense

Rating: 9/10 (27 September 2015)

A tale of the dirty, dirty drug war taking place between the border of Mexico and the US. Emily Blunt plays the audience surrogate, an FBI agent who, after stumbling upon a horrifying scene of cartel violence in suburban Phoenix, is recruited by a mysterious, obviously important government figure (Josh Brolin) to help him get the top people who are really responsible for the crime, which is just one of many similar crimes that are encroaching further and further into "civilized" territories. Even if you end up finding the story a little too vague (I didn't, but I could easily imagine someone thinking that), you have to admit it's one of the most suspenseful films to come out in quite some time. The whole entrance into and exit from Juarez near the beginning of the film is a master class in creating anxiety. It's more terrifying than the vast majority of horror films. And that's just one sequence among several great set pieces. I do have some slight problems/questions about how Blunt fits into the whole picture. In the end, I'm not sure it makes a whole lot of sense. I also think she comes off as a tad too naive. She's an FBI agent, not a small town police officer. I like her performance, but it may be a little too one-note to qualify as great. She is understandably in shock for most of the film, and the script has to resort to the old "I picked the wrong week to quit smoking!" shtick to have her emote. The best performance by far comes from Benicio del Toro, who plays Brolin's "advisor" who clearly has way more going on behind his shadowy mien. Any flaws are minor, though, and could perhaps be cleared up by a second viewing. This is most definitely a great picture.