Sicario

Plot synopsis:
In the opening shot, there is a text that explains that the origin of the word "sicario" comes from the Roman zealots that occupied Palestine. In Mexico, the word means "hitman".Chandler, Arizona.A SWAT team moves in toward a house where they suspect there to be hostages held by Mexican cartel leader Manuel Diaz (Bernardo P. Sacarino). Kate Macer (Emily Blunt), an American FBI agent, and her partner Reggie Wayne (Daniel Kaluyya) move in with their rescue team and burst in through the house with the van. They capture a few suspects, while Kate kills a man that tried to shoot her. The team then finds dozens of bodies stuffed into the walls with bags over their heads. Most of the team goes outside to puke. Kate's superior Dave Jennings (Victor Garber) calls her inside. Outside, several officers notice something from a nearby shed. A bomb goes off, killing two officers.At the station, Kate is brought in to meet Matt Graver (Josh Brolin). He is brought in to help catch Diaz, along with a mysterious Mexican federal agent who introduces himself as Alejandro (Benicio Del Toro). Kate is asked to join the team, which she only agrees to so she can catch the men responsible for the deaths she witnessed that day.Elsewhere in Mexico, a man named Silvio (Maximiliano Hernandez) is in his kitchen. His son tells him that he has a soccer match later that day. Silvio goes through his daily routine before heading off to work. He is wearing a police uniform as he walks to his car.Kate initially believes the team is going to El Paso, but they end up going just across the border to Juarez, Mexico. Once there, the team rolls with a whole squad of agents and Delta Force soldiers in black SUVS led by Steve Forsing (Jeffrey Donovan) through the city. They recover a prisoner from a jail and return to the border. Alejandro tells Kate to watch out for Mexican State Police. They drive up to a crowded parkway and come to a halt short of Customs. Alejandro spots two cars with gang members and he notices they have itchy trigger fingers. The cops slowly move out of their vehicles and approach the gang members. One of them gets out of their car slowly as well, gun in hand. The officers tell him to lower his weapon, but he reacts quickly, getting himself and his buddies shot to hell. The other gang members suffer the same fate when one of them tries to draw his weapon on the cops. Kate also shoots a bandit sneaking up on her vehicle.On the U.S. Side, Kate argues with Matt on the actions taken on the parkway, as well as the whole way that they are leading this mission. The stress has even caused her to take up smoking again.Matt watches as Alejandro tortures the prisoner, a local gang leader.The team drives to El Paso to question buses filled with immigrants. Alejandro wants the ones caught near Nogales. They question the men to determine where a secret tunnel to cross the border can be found.Next, the team is surveilling a bank where they believe they will find a woman depositing money tied to the Mexican drug cartels. They arrest the woman and in their search, the team finds bags of money to be laundered and wrapped in blue-pink wristbands. The bank manager shows the Feds that the cartels are just repaying loans, which are not tracked.Some of the team goes out for drinks later that night. Reggie introduces Kate to an acquaintance, Ted (Jon Bernthal), a local cop off duty. After a few drinks, Kate goes back to her apartment to hook up, until she notices he took out from his pocket a wristband similar to what they found earlier. Kate tries to get away, but a struggle ensues as she tries to reach for her gun. Ted starts to strangle Kate until Alejandro walks in and points his gun in Ted's face, making him release his grip on Kate.Ted is taken into custody. Alejandro enters the car with him and beats his face until Ted tells him what he can say regarding his business with Diaz, and reveal other corrupt cops.Matt decides to attack a tunnel and make the drug cartel react. They gear up and head towards the tunnel location. Matt tells Kate to stay out of the way as she is only there because the CIA can only work in the U.S. as being attached to a domestic agency.The team succeeds in taking away a substantial amount of money from Diaz's account, forcing him to make his return to Mexico. Following that, the team attacks a tunnel at night and Alejandro and the Delta team lead a running gun battle, Kate and Reggie follow nervously. On the Mexican side Kate sees Alejandro find Silvio and hold him at gunpoint. Kate aims her gun at Alejandro, but he shoots her in her vest and tells her to never do that again. He takes Silvio and makes him drive away in his police car.A while later back on the American side Kate punches Matt but he calms her down. She learns that Alejandro is not a Mexican federal agent, but an assassin originally from the Colombian Cartel being hired by the CIA to catch Diaz's boss, Fausto Alarcon (Julio Cedillo), the local head of the Mexican Cartel. The Mexicans had decapitated Alejandro's wife and threw their daughter into a vat of acid. The CIA thinks they can control drugs better if the Colombians are in charge.Alejandro forces Silvio to drive until they see Diaz's car. Alejandro makes Silvio pull Diaz over and force him to step out of the car. Silvio walks out to confront Diaz, only for Alejandro to shoot and kill Silvio and shoot Diaz in the leg. He forces Diaz to drive to his boss's house, Alarcon.Alejandro arrives at Fausto's home and kills all of his guards. He walks outside to find Fausto having dinner with his wife and two sons. He aims his gun at Fausto and tells the wife and boys to continue eating and to stay calm. Fausto tells Alejandro that his wife wouldn't like what he's become, a lawyer-turned-hitman. Alejandro brings up his daughter. Fausto says it was nothing personal, but it was to Alejandro. He says in Spanish, "Time to meet God". He shoots the wife, then the two boys dead, to Fausto's horror. Alejandro tells him to finish his meal, moments before he shoots Fausto dead.Alejandro slips into Kate's apartment unseen. He hands her a document for her to sign to confirm that everything they did was by-the-book. Kate refuses to sign it. Alejandro holds a gun under her chin, stating she'll be committing suicide if she doesn't sign. He wipes tears away from her cheeks while never removing the gun. Kate reluctantly signs. Alejandro leaves and tells her to go to a smaller town where the rules of law still apply. Kate grabs her gun and aims it at him from her window. He turns around and waits for her to pull the trigger, but she just slowly lowers it and lets him walk away.In the final scene back in Mexico, Silvio's son stands over his father's empty bedside, almost as if he knows his father won't be coming home. His mother takes him to his soccer match. During the game, everybody hears gunshots in the distance. They quickly carry on with the game.

Tags: suspenseful, neo noir, murder, violence, tragedy, revenge

Review:
The end not only justifies the means, it requires them.Denis Villeneuve's masterful piece exemplifies not only filmmaking of the highest order, but carves out a place alongside the terrible news reports as a deeply regretful, angry and at times almost unbearable look into the abyss of a socio-political nightmare that is fueled by first world-habit and global economics.Through the powerful performances by Blunt, Del Toro and Josh Brolin in the leads as well as the excellent supporting cast, do we get a sense of the human cost (physical and psychological), which the war on drugs has taken.From an exploding prison population, to the destruction of Mexican agriculture, to refugees and a cycle of violence that is beyond barbarity; the pull that "Sicario" exerts over the viewer is undeniable and by skirting the limits of bearable tension, without ever becoming exploitive, it is never giving an inch concerning its subject matter.Few movies this year will have such a clear and defined structure and unflinching approach towards a situation that appears to be beyond salvation, while showing at the same time, that life nevertheless continues.Taylor Sheridan's script doesn't miss a single beat and without sidestepping anything frees itself from beaten movie conventions by using familiar elements in an extremely skillful manner.All these themes, stories and characters are captured through the lens of veteran Roger Deakins (Skyfall, No Country for Old Men) who lets us always know how the micro- and macro-particles of any conflict are inextricably intertwined.
If anything - despite the subject matter - the film goes out of its way to avoid Hollywood heroics.Emily Blunt does an amazing job portraying Kate Macy, a career policewoman heading a SWAT team.
The acting from the support cast is exactly what it needs to be - good in general, and great when a minor character is the focal point - but look closely at how much Benicio del Toro manages to do with no dialogue and not even all that much movement.
Deakins is a multiple Oscar-nominated DP that gets better with every work and in SICARIO, you will see that he once again experiments with even richer and newer ways of shooting, whether it's the night vision first person view or the angles to capture the intensity at the border, moments before weapons are drawn, it's like enrolling in another classroom taught by Deakins but with extra curriculums to learn.
Oscar nominee Josh Brolin plays the leader of the team, Matt Graver, he talks way too damn much but that is also a part of his game, his game of manipulating others.I've never been to Juarez, I've heard horrible stories about that place, and SICARIO, though it wasn't exactly filmed in Juarez, does manage to put the fear of God in audiences' heart by showing Juarez for what it is, there's no sugar coating, there's no hiding that it's one of the murder capitals of the world.
It's a deeply harrowing part that will stay with you long after you've done watching the film which in and of itself wrestles with questions of morality.SICARIO means 'hit-man,' you'll come to wonder which of those three lead characters is the actual hit-man but ultimately, what SICARIO gives you is this dilemma,...
This is like the stuff you see on hour long serialized Television like Netflix's Narcos, but instead this police like drama is done in a two hour movie instead of thirteenth episodes.Emily Blunt was amazing in her character, a good FBI agent who feels she's not doing enough on the streets and allows herself to get used by someone with more power, played by Josh Brolin brilliantly as a man who seems uncharismatic about his job in order to hide the covert nature of his mission to find the big man responsible for all the street crime.Brolin played a necessary evil, that comes off brilliantly in the narrative that plays out.
The trailer shows key moments from all the set-pieces, and leaves you knowing almost just as much about the story as you'll get to know watching the actual film.Sicario features a pretty thin storyline, but to its defence, it's all part of a tactical approach at keeping things blurry, shady, and mysterious to the audience.
Metaphorically, these mechanisms serve the story pretty well, as we watch official government agencies use unorthodox methods and people in this bloody war against the cartels, and the intent is to offer a glimpse at an ongoing situation and let the viewer's imagination fill in the blanks.That came off as a bit of an odd artistic choice to me, as, in recent years, several films and TV shows have thoroughly explored all the horrors resulting from the war against drugs at the border area between the U.S. and Mexico.
Without saying that these two aspects were neglected, I feel like this is where Villeneuve's film could have reached that next level, but unfortunately didn't, by keeping everything so vague, and so volatile.I'm not going to sugar coat it: Emily Blunt's character is one-dimensional.
Again, it's part of a mechanism to make everyone look like a tiny dot in the big picture, but prevented me from being truly compelled by the story unfolding and most of the characters that were part of it.Josh Brolin's and Benicio Del Toro's performances are both amazing, though.
My thought is that a good Thriller title is the hardest case you can go for as a movie maker .A good thriller has to keep you hooked and in tense for the whole movie ,worst case for most of the movie.Sicario manages to provide the right amount of thrill and action in a way it keeps you interested through all of the time.Sure it had its flaws and sometimes i was a little disappointed with the decision the writers made with this one but when i look at the whole picture its coming up as a very good film , i honestly couldn't stop watching and was a little sad when it was over.
Feverishly satisfying with pulse-pounding energy that's sure to give your heart its full day's work, Denis Villenueve's masterful "Sicario" with Emily Blunt, Benicio del Toro, and Josh Brolin is an edge of your seat thriller that exemplifies the finest parts of the action genre.
Filled with mystery, suspense, and outstanding performances, Villenueve's direction, along a tight script by Taylor Sheridan, brings a much needed sense of technique and art that's been sorely missing from the 2015 movie year."Sicario" tells the story of an idealistic FBI agent names Kate (Blunt), who is enlisted by an elected government task force to aid in the escalating war against drugs at the border area between the U.S. and Mexico.
With the "guidance" of a mysterious agent Alejandro (Del Toro) and her superior Matt (Brolin), and influx of intrigue and morals will shake Kate to her very core.First and foremost, "Sicario" breathes new life into contemporary cinematography, as produced by no less than the great Roger Deakins.
He takes on a genre that may feel familiar, like the drug cartel, but makes it feel new and smart."Sicario" is hands down one of the year's best films..
To tell more would spoil what is a dense and complex storyline that evolves in a most satisfactory manner.The acting is superb, with Blunt giving a career-best performance (sadly overlooked by the major awards), Josh Brolin being convincing as the war-weathered CIA man and Benicio del Toro delivering his best stone cold killer in gripping style.
Outstanding (for both direction, editing and cinematography) is a scene set in and around a tunnel that is the best satellite/night vision scene since the 'electronic battlefield' in "Patriot Games" in 1992.The Oscar-nominated music by Jóhann Jóhannsson (so good with "The Theory of Everything") is of the atonal electronic variety, undoubtedly effective in conveying the film's mood but difficult to compare against the more obvious Oscar nominations from the likes of Ennio Morricone and John Williams.Directed by Denis Villeneuve (who specialises in single named features) this is a tense, intelligent and thought-providing film that does nothing for Mexico's tourist industry but a lot for Trump's presidential campaign!Often brutal, this is not an easy film to watch.
a Mexican drug cartel, Emily Blunt plays Kate, acts a surrogate for audience, who is an FBI SWAT agent, wide-eyed but enterprising in her field of work, volunteers to join the special division, lead by Matt Graver (Brolin), to track down the big boss behind the cartel in Mexico.
But the film's MVP title unequivocally belongs to del Toro's Alejandro, stuns with his all-out reserved gravitas and a steely resolution for retribution, gradually reveals his true colours as a cut-throat angel-of-death and a proficient marksman in the third act (he is the said hit-man we are looking for), leads towards a series breathless encounters with the wrongdoers of the drug ring and an ultimate face-to-face with Kate, he is the most chilling character on screen after Javier Bardem in NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN (2007), if ever the movie will collect any Oscar love in the acting branch, he is the most entitled one.After his Hollywood one-two punch PRISONERS (2013) and ENEMY (2013), Villeneuve's directorial finesse again being appraised here, and he is such a first-rate ambiance deviser, together with the assistance of Jóhann Jóhannsson's stirring score, the thumping drumbeat in the opening is so palpable to set the mood upon that right vibe, yet, Villenueve knows the boundary, he doesn't overly resort to shock value to keep audience on the edge of the seat, which is brilliantly testified by the opening gambit with exchanges of fire, sudden explosion and ghastly cadavers.
In a much wiser strategy, he makes good use of DP Deakins' majestic camera-work to varnish the film with a sublime tinge of poise and magnificence, like the breathtaking aerial shots, striking environmental palettes or the novel usages of thermal vision and night vision frames, they are where cinema finds its most glorious and enthralling achievement, a big bravo to Villeneuve and his crew, soon he will become a juggernaut in the Hollywood industry, and his next project on the slate is the long-waited sequel of BLADE RUNNER (1982), since it might actually be the rare kind that does not sully its predecessor's reputation, shall we all drink to that?.
But soon Kate finds that the assignments led by Matt and Alejandro (Benicio Del Toro) are absolutely illegal and she discovers why she was invited to join the team."Sicario" is a great action film with excellent sequences of shootings.
What I love most about Villeneuve's style is that he allows shots to "breathe", giving the viewer enough time for the beautiful compositions to soak in.Sicario is quite violent and will surely keep you at the edge of your seat, but it also has depth, both in terms of having interesting characters, as well as in terms of the commentary it makes about the politics of drug wars and border control.All in all, Sicario is a masterpiece..
In the lawless border area stretching between the U.S. and Mexico, an idealistic FBI agent (Emily Blunt) is enlisted to aid in the escalating war against drugs.Also starring, Josh Brolin, Daniel Kaluuya, Benicio Del Toro, Victor Garber, Jon Bernthal."Sicario" was the only movie in English directed by Denis Villeneuve that I hadn't seen yet.
I am not the fan of his style - it's too slow, rather uneventful, lacks sharp dialogue and character building - but I gotta admit that it always pays off.I could also say that "Sicario" doesn't really offer any intriguing characters except Del Toro's (good that he's gonna be back for sequel "Soldado") and the best drug war / trafficking stories are just more captivating (especially "The Wire" and "Breaking Bad")...But it doesn't change the fact that it's a solid thriller, and a cool movie which makes you gradually more and more thankful that you endured the rather slow first half..
story, direction, acting, cinematography some of the best you WILL EVER SEE ANY YEAR..I thought prisoners was an outstanding movie but this takes thriller and suspense to a new level..
The plot is absolutely preposterous, and is easily out-shined by any season of 24 or homeland.Emily Blount is totally unconvincing in her role, the action is totally unbelievable, in spite of the hyped up grim, slice-of-life thriller it promotes itself as, and worst of all, it presents a completely ludicrous picture of the Mexican drug trade, along with the law enforcement agencies that attempt to stop it.And Villeneuve gets the blade runner job?
Director Denis Villeneuve (Prisoners, Incendies) elevates Sheridan's excellent script further with a strong cast and some outstanding camera work from the best Director of Photography working today, Roger Deakins.The opening sequence is about as tense as anything we could ever hope for on screen, and it introduces us to FBI Agent Kate Macer, played by Emily Blunt.
Overall Rating: 4 stars Cinematic rating: 4 stars Bigger questions rating: 4 stars Sicario: The name for first century Jewish zealots who desired to eliminate their Roman invaders, but was later taken on within Latin American culture to mean assassin or hit-man.The life of an FBI agent on the US / Mexican border is a mixture of drug cartels and immigration law that never seems to come to an end.
VERY GOOD MOVIE WITH LITTLE TO NO NUDITY Through the powerful performances by Blunt, Del Toro and Josh Brolin in the leads as well as the excellent supporting cast, do we get a sense of the human cost (physical and psychological), which the war on drugs has caused.From an exploding prison population, to the destruction of Mexican agriculture, to refugees and a cycle of violence that is beyond barbarity; the pull that "Sicario" exerts over the viewer is undeniable and by skirting the limits of bearable tension, without ever becoming exploitive, it is never giving an inch concerning its subject matter.Few movies this year will have such a clear and defined structure and unflinching approach towards a situation that appears to be beyond salvation, while showing at the same time that life nevertheless continues.Taylor Sheridan's script doesn't miss a single beat and without sidestepping anything frees itself from beaten movie conventions by using them in an extremely skillful manner.All these themes, stories and characters are captured through the lens of veteran Roger Deakins (Skyfall, No Country for Old Men) who lets us always know how the micro- and macro-particles of any conflict are inextricably intertwined.
Sicario tells the story of an FBI agent (Emily Blunt) asked to cooperate with the CIA to take down a Mexican drug cartel.This is Benicio Del Toro's best performance since Traffic which is no small praise.
It's a shame because it makes the movie feel exploitative and dehumanizing which probably wasn't Villeneuve's intention.The story doesn't pull any punches, like Blunt's character, you feel powerless when confronted with the violence and the scale of the drug cartels.
This movie has undeniable qualities: Benicio Del Terro's performance is incredible, Deakins should get an Oscar for cinematography and Denis Villeneuve knows how to shoot action and build tension.
It is hard to go wrong with the involvement of cinematographer Roger Deakins, director Denis Villeneuve, writer Taylor Sheridan, advertising that really makes one want to see the film, its critical acclaim and a cast like Emily Blunt, Josh Brolin and Benicio Del Toro.In no way was 'Sicario' a let down.
Certainly a surprise film of the year, Sicario delves into the sensitive subject of the escalating war against drugs that have become a daily occurrence for those near the border between the U.S. and Mexico.A member of the kidnapping division in Arizona, Kate (Emily Blunt) is brought onto a special operations unit funded by the Department of Defense after a devastating and jarring blow to her team.
First off, for me this movie was a great way to get to know for the first time two big names and talents in the industry: lead actor Benicio Del Toro and director Denis Villeneuve.
ANd this film does nothing to change the fact that he is EASILY one of the top 1 or 2 directors to watch right now.WHile the characters here lack a little depth, and the story doesn't really know where to put them most of the time, the film still works.
The story follows Kate Macer, portrayed by Emily Blunt, an FBI agent who is dragged in a drug war that takes place at the border of Mexico and U.S. Emily Blunt is absolutely excellent in this role, one of the best female performance we've seen so far this year.
Benicio Del Toro and Josh Brolin are also excellent in supporting roles, playing characters whose motivations are not fully clear until the end of the movie.The visuals in this movie are absolutely gorgeous, the cinematographer, Roger Deakins, did an amazing job and I can't wait to see him work again with Villeneuve in the Blade Runner sequel.
There is also night-vision sequence that looks absolutely stunning.This movie is a great take on the war on drugs, with three- dimensional characters, with solid acting from the Blunt-Brolin-Del Toro trio, fantastic visuals and a very good script.
Intense and compelling, this beautifully shot thriller features wonderful work from Emily Blunt and Benicio del Toro, amongst others, and depicts a murky, morally vacuous war against drugs on the Mexican border.Blunt plays Kate Macer, an FBI agent who, fed on half truths and lies, slowly realises the nature of the mission she's a part of.
Director Denis Villeneuve ("Prisoners" 2013) crosses the U.S. boarder with under-the-radar agents Matt (Josh Brolin) and Alejandro (Benicio Del Toro), as they enlist FBI agent Kate (Emily Blunt) and her partner Reggie (Daniel Kaluuya - "Johnny English Reborn") to infiltrate the Mexican Cartel.
The directing, the acting from the 3 main characters, being Josh Brolin, Emily Blunt and Benicio Del Toro is very believable.
Along for the ride is Alejandro (Benicio Del Toro), a shadowy figure you get the feeling isn't quite who or what he seems."Sicario" is a solid movie on two levels:First, it really captures the tension of the drug cartel scene.