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). Its not just that he is so good (like all of the cast), but also that this character is the gem of the script. If he deserved the Oscar for Traffic, this role merits it even more.