An police officer gets involved in an escalating war against drugs

Rating: 6/10 (20 March 2016)

A slow-burning thriller with several unsettling moments, and great acting. Emily Blunt, Josh Brolin, and Benicio Del Toro, all do a great job. This movie explores the war on drugs, and the necessary evils used to stop evil. Emily Blunt plays a police officer who volunteers to fight drugs, but witnesses atrocities and illegal practices from her team. Josh Brolin is brilliant in his role, and you don't really know whether he is the good guy or the bad guy. Del Toro is the most enigmatic, and in the end, his true motives are revealed. The directing is good. The shooting scenes all have tension building up. The deaths makes you feel rattled, rather than cheer for the dead bad guys. The use of vast empty desert landscape shot from above gives the feeling of both peace, and awe. This contrasts with the actual situation on the ground, which is rife with violence. In short, this is a dense movie, which forces you to watch and think. It does not make you feel good in the end.