A dark, fantastic movie that should not be missed!

Rating: 8/10 (1 October 2015)

I instantly became a fan of Denis Villeneuve after watching a Prisoner. When I heard Villeneuve's next movie would be exploring the war on drugs, I instantly got curious. And after coming out of the theatre, I can say that not only was I not disappointed, I was a bit shaken to my core. Felt like a mix between Zero Dark Thirty and No Country for Old Men. Sicario is one of top five favourite movies of this year.
Just like Prisoners, Villeneuve takes the audience on a dark descent into a world of violence with the main character's morals being challenged. But whereas Prisoners was more self-contained, Sicario goes bigger by the exploring the harsh almost lawless landscape behind the Mexican border. Villeneuve does not shy away from the harsh reality of the violence that occurs throughout the story but doesn't try to shove it down your face. Before the violence is about to come, Villeneuve does a superb job of building up the tension so when it happens your jaw drops. And I even give Villeneuve, as well as the writer Taylor Sheridan, extra credit for focusing on a character that may have seemed unimportant throughout most of the movie but by the third act become very relevant in the end.
The cast in this perfectly plays each of their roles. While Edge of Tomorrow shown that Emily Blunt can play a serious bad ass heroine, her performance in Sicario has officially proved that she can lead a role in a serious thriller. Blunt shows a character that is tough, loyal and obedient on the outside but within there is a vulnerability and question of morality within her. She shows a person who all she wants to do is bring justice but becomes conflicted as she goes deeper into the dark reality that she is in. And by the end of the film you can't help but to feel sorry for her. Josh Brolin becomes the ultimate contrast as a man who does not follow typical procedure from his cowboy-ish attitude, his choice of clothing to methods that border on the line between order and vigilantism. But the real star is the Sicario himself, Benicio Del Torro. Del Torro's display a great sense of quietness and sophistication but yet comes off very intimidating. His character carries a huge amount mystery that makes you want him to have more screen time. He is someone you can't tell if you want to root for and be totally scared of.
Veteran cinematographer Roger Deakins really shows the bleakness and darkness of this world. His shots range from excellent wide shots of barren desert landscapes, slowly creeping zooms to tell we are about to see something horrific to avoiding lights during night-time sequence to take full advantage of the dark atmosphere. I will be shocked if Deakins does not get a nomination for best cinematographer at the Oscars.
And finally, a big part of chilling atmosphere in this is in thanks to Johann Johansson's score. Johansson create a one of the darkest and creepiest soundtrack I have ever heard as it perfectly reflects the sense of dread the story creates but yet also creates an emotional response at the hopeless of the situations that go on.
Overall, Sicario is a masterpiece that Dennis Villeneuve has created. It would be foolish to ignore this movie. I am looking more forward to more of what Villeneuve can bring like his next two movies, The Story of Your Life and the Blade Runner sequel.