Land of Wolves

Rating: 9/10 (4 October 2015)

After Prisoners and Enemy in back to back years, two of the more thought provoking films of the past few years, I have been awaiting Denis Villeneuve's next project. Of course, Emily Blunt is my favorite actress right now, so in my mind the two of them were enough to get Sicario on my most anticipated list for 2015. I can assure you, the film doesn't letdown. Sicario is about an FBI agent, played by Blunt, who is brought along by a government task force to help on the border of Mexico and the U.S. as drug cartels rule the area.
One of the most chilling parts about Sicario is its realistic nature. I had a Zero Dark Thirty vibe in that it doesn't hold back in its brutality. They both have a brilliant female lead as well, although much different characters by motive. Blunt is complemented by Benicio Del Toro and Josh Brolin as the main three agents. Part of the greatness of Sicario is its cast but I think the marketing was a bit misleading. We are led to believe that Blunt is the central focus of the story, but there is almost as much if not more of Del Toro than anyone else here. It's both good and bad. I was looking forward to seeing Blunt as the integral part of the story, but Del Toro was just as good.
I think the real star of the film is Roger Deakins, the director of photography. He once again gives an incredibly beautiful looking film through his award winning cinematography. Even though this film may fail to get any acting nominations or any of the other big awards, I think it's safe to say that Deakins is a lock for cinematography. It's his panning shots of the border along with J贸hann J贸hannsson's score that give the film an eerie and ominous feel.
It's very difficult to talk about any details without spoiling anything, but I can say that it's a really good movie. I was reading a review that talked about the intensity of a scene before the intensity really begins, if that makes sense. It wasn't the gunshots or explosions that gave me chills. It was the quiet calm scenes before the storm. It's not the mind bender that Enemy was nor the shocker that was Prisoners, but Sicario is one of the most beautifully shot and well acted films this year.
+Blunt can do no wrong
+Eerie score
+Deakins' cinematography
+Brutally real
+Very very very intense
9.0/10