An Intense Examination of the Brutal Mexican Drug Cartels

Rating: 8/10 (29 December 2016)

At the beginning a brief explanation of the origin of the word sicario is provided. It actually is derived from the Latin "sicarius" ("assassin"); in Spanish it means "hitman."
In broad daylight in Chandler, Arizona a kidnap response unit (SWAT team) moves in against a house where drug cartel hostages are kept. An armored truck crashes through a wall. After the shootout, the team discovers 35 bodies partially encased in plastic behind the drywall; some team members retch in disgust. Two of the agents perish when a bomb explodes in an outside shed. These actions illustrate the brutality of the Mexican drug cartels. Furthermore, the raid confirms that the cartels are operating in the American southwest.
At HQ, a secretive American task force (special ops), headed by unconventional Matt Graver (Josh Brolin), is assigned to legally or illegally hunt down the drug cartel honchos in Sonora, Mexico. These include drug bosses Manuel Diaz (Bernardo Sacarino), his brother Guillermo Diaz (Edgar Arreola), and top guy Fausto Alarcon (Julio Cesar Cedillo).On the task force is idealistic field agent Kate Macer (Emily Blunt), who led the assault in Chandler, and coldly violent Columbian Alejandro (Benicio Del Toro). Emily has a confidante, supposedly helpful but actually annoying Reggie (Daniel Kaluuya). After briefing, five team vehicles are driven across the Mexican border, escorted by the heavily armed Policia Federal. We are introduced to an arid and harsh land, run-down houses, and partially clothed bodies hanging upside down along freeway overpasses. There will be more brutal scenes. From the Mexican authorities, the team picks up captured Guillermo Diaz. Graver warns, "Keep an eye out for the state police. They are not always the good guys!" When they return to the border crossing, the roads are totally jammed with barely any movement. Tension builds as the team is on the lookout for armed cartel hit-men in cars. Soon there is a shootout in front of all the civilians, but the cartel hit-men are killed; Emily kills a policeman allied with them. At HQ, Alejandro tortures Guillermo for information.
After that the task force surveys a bank and captures a female money launderer. They begin to freeze the bank accounts ($17 million) of Manuel Diaz. This action forces him out of hiding and into Mexico. At a bar Kate hooks up with Ted (Jon Bernthal), a cop, and takes him to her apartment for sex. But when he removes items from his pocket, she notices that a money band is the same as used by the drug cartel. The situation turns violent, but Alejandro intervenes and arrests Ted, who is grilled and tortured for information about other crooked police on the force.
Meanwhile Kate is upset; she feels that the team is operating out of bounds. She wants activities to be run by the book. Graver brings her back to reality when he tells her that his CIA unit cannot operate within the USA without a domestic agency accompanying it. "I told you you'd be useful," he says. "So that's it. That's why I'm here!" she replies. Kate has received a dose of reality. With new information, the Delta Force makes a night assault on the cartel's hideaway tunnel. During the successful mission, Alejandro captures crooked Mexican cop Silvio (Maximiliano Hernández), and uses his car to capture Manuel Diaz. He kills both, and then moves against top honcho Fausto Alarcon. Killing the guards, Alejandro confronts Fausto and shoots him and his family (Fausto previously had Alejandro's wife beheaded and also had ordered his daughter thrown into a vat of acid.). Revenge yes, but why were Alejandro's family earlier killed? Was he part of the Columbian drug cartel? Do the authorities prefer the Columbians over the Mexicans because they are easier to control?
Near the end Alejandro forces his way into Kate's apartment and makes her sign a document at gunpoint that the entire mission was on the up-and-up. Actually the raid was legal but Alejandro's revenge killings were not. He advises her to get a position in a small town because she is obviously in over her head. At the end women watch their children play soccer in a field. They pay little attention to the gunfire heard in the distance as the drug war has become part of their lives.
Denis Villeneuve has directed a brutally realistic movie. He examines the Mexican drug cartels, their heartlessness, and how corrupting they are. His real message is that governments cannot play by the rules and so must fight fire with fire if they expect to make inroads into drug trafficking. Although the feature is generally told from the view point of Kate (Blunt), who performs well, Del Toro steals every scene where he appears. He probably merited an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.