Terrific acting and a brutal story make this a haunting film.

Rating: 7/10 (28 May 2016)

I've never really thought greatly of Emily Blunt until I saw this film. I've seen a few of her other films, Edge of Tomorrow for instance. And whilst she's definitely been good. I've never been captivated by her performance. That is until now. Unfortunately her character lacks a little strength that would otherwise make her not only a good FBI agent, but a powerful heroine. In a lot of scenes she's sort of just there. Not really doing much besides complaining. Which is understandable since she has virtually no clue what's happening. At the same time that's part of the fun of this film. We the audience are just like her. We're lost, confused, and quite scared. One 10 second shot, which I'll definitely remember, is when she and the other agents are driving through a slum in Mexico and they see four naked mutilated corpses hanging in plain view under an overpass. This is the kind of world Kate Macy (Emily Blunt) has entered. Its grim, bloody, and no one but the children care for one another. Its a world where I wouldn't want to spend even a second. Filled with gunfire, explosions, drugs, and death. The two strong points of this film are easily Emily Blunt and Benicio del Toro's performances. They're exact opposites. Blunt is in deep water, afraid yet still moral. Whereas Del Toro is swimming gracefully through this film, controlling everyone and everything along with the help of his 'friends' who will forever remain in the shade. In short, this is a good film, filled with powerful, shivering scenes and gripping performances. I just wish Emily Blunt had more to do.