Sicario [DVD] [2015]

very good film would recommend to anyone

No spoilers: I came away from this film with a 'Wow' feeling. Top script, top actors, top action, very interesting plot, very intelligent complexity, top production values. The details were very credible; the depth, number and variety of characters impressive; the pacing was skillful and needed to be with so many strands: The build up was very tangible. There were a lot of 'reveals' each slightly unexpected, each clever, each felt like an 'Aha' moment, each built nicely from the last. This was (for me at least) a new direction in the war on crime film genre. A seminal departure and eye opening in many ways. This film is not like most, and no one thing made it better, each area it touched had a part in that sinister excellence. A dark film this, oh yes, but I was glad I'd watched it.I'd not heard of Denise Villeneuve the Director (I'm no movie geek) but I will look out for him now. The sequel (seen the trailer) looks like more of the same. I cannot believe it can have all the same awe inspiring originality that this one had, but I'll be going to see that one too.It is a borderline 18: It's gore is heavy but very carefully measured to keep the 15 label. I would not want 14 year olds to watch this. Nil F-nudity.

Released to very positive reviews, this film from flavour-of-the-month director Denis Villeneuve caught my attention at the time. I waited until it was cheap to buy on DVD and bought a copy. I have just got around to watching it today, so here are my thoughts, fresh from the packet.From the very start, the opening is action-packed, beautifully shot, and doesn’t waste time on preambles or scene setting. I like that. FBI action-woman Kate Macer (Emily Blunt) leads a team of SWAT officers and FBI agents on a raid, taking on Mexican criminals operating in Arizona. She’s at the top of her game, backed up by her steadfast and reliable partner Reggie. (Daniel Kaluuya) So far, so good, and a very promising beginning.Plucky Kate comes to the attention of a multi-agency team tasked with taking the war against drugs into Mexico itself. She and her partner are asked to volunteer to join this team, and the by-the-book agent leaps at the chance. This mixed bag of US Marshals, Sheriffs, spooky agents and special forces troops are set on a mission to extricate a gang boss from Juarez, and need the FBI to join in too.Exciting and often tense scenes follow, with Kate becoming rapidly concerned about the long-term aims of the team, and their flouting of due process, and rules of engagement. She is especially worried about the carefree and smooth talking Matt Graver, (Josh Brolin, laconic as usual) and his shadowy right-hand man Alejandro.(Benicio del Toro on his usual top form)Things increase in tension, as the team decides to operate clandestinely in Mexico, outside of their actual jurisdiction. The action moves up a gear, and we are soon left wondering who is really a friend, and if the enemy really is the enemy. Action sequences are tightly managed, with the usual crop of stealth helicopters, CCTV surveillance, satellite tracking, night-vision goggles, heat-seeking cameras, and a lot of looking at maps. On the plus side, they are also lovingly filmed, and feel very believable. But straight-talking Kate remains worried about her colleagues, as well as their methods, and she never feels trusted, or really treated as part of the team.I don’t sound that excited, do I? Unlike many that gave this rave reviews, perhaps I have seen too many films in my long life. Or maybe too many similar films.US crime agencies taking on the drug lords.Seen it.A potentially renegade agent leading an unorthodox team on an operation that may or may not be sanctioned.Seen it.A straight-laced lead female agent who is not comfortable with her new job, lives alone after a divorce, is stressed out, not looking after herself, and worrying her partner.Seen it.Sneering Mexican drug lords living in mansions and dealing out brutal punishments.Seen it.Corrupt Mexican and American police officers, seduced by the huge payments available.Seen it.A loyal and devoted partner who is worried about the woman, and will stick by her, whatever happens.Seen it.A suggestion that those fighting crime have to be as ruthless and cruel as those committing it.Seen it.Blunt received high praise for her role, and she plays it well enough. It may not be her fault that we have seen the same thing so many times before. Brolin seems to insist upon playing Brolin, whatever the part, and the villains are telegraphed and typecast as such. Locations feel authentic and suitably gritty, but nothing anyone has not seen already, dozens of times.So what’s good about it? Is it worth a couple of hours of your time?Yes, it is. For one thing, the cinematography is superb. This film was nominated for an Oscar for it, and you can see why, all the time. It is a film-maker’s film, and that separates it from so many seen previously. And then there is the incomparable Benicio del Toro. I confess to always liking him, even when he is playing much the same part, something he does all the time. He is heavier in this film, and looks tired, worn out by his quest for revenge, and his fight for justice against the gangsters. Alejandro doesn’t play by any rules, and it is always a great scene, when he is in it.If you have never seen a film like this before, you will undoubtedly enjoy it. If like me, you have, then look for the good bits, admire the way it is shot, and keep watching Benicio. There is a sequel on the way too. Let’s hope del Toro is in it.

The war on drugs has failed. As someone says in the film,20% of Americans do drugs, so what are you going to do?You resort to illegal means. Fight fire with fire.This is a brilliant example why the war on drugs has failed.Even if America built a wall on the Mexican broader, thedrugs would still flood in. Two things stand out in this movie,the way the narrative develops, and the scenery of theSouth West of America. The landscape looks so bleak andforeboding, that it could swallow you up, and nobody wouldnotice. This of cause is the metaphor for the story, a neverending vortex that sucks the soul out of humanity.This is a very good film, and the cast is great, especiallyEmily Blunt, but it leaves me with a question; Will the waron drugs ever end?

One of my favourite films, the cinematography is incredible; I don't think there's many better than Villeneuve at making a moody film.Del Toro is great, and even though I'm not a particular fan of Emily Blunt she did a serviceable job (her being a slightly odd choice for the role seems to work in her favour).The music is also top notch and really emphasises the melancholy mood.

An action movie that oddly parallels Cartel Land which I watched recently. After a gruseome drug bust a young FBI agent (Ms Blunt) is seconded to Dept of Defense contractors engaged in a dirty war with some of the cartels. Cue lots of weapons action, car chases and shoot-outs: all very well executed. Josh Brolin, who leads the contractors, operates on a need to know basis and Blunt's character raises merry hell on a regular basis because she does not know. The action plays round the mysterious Mexican attached to the team, played by Benicio del Toro. There is a twist here, but essentialy it takes The Walking Dead levels of ruthlessness and sends them to the Border.