Sicario

For a good 40+ minutes of the movie my facial expression resembled that of Del Toro's (ComingSoon.net)

There's a way to make a good movie with the kind of story we see in Sicario. Director Denis Villeneuve (2013's Prisoners) and Screenwriter Taylor Sheridan prove they know this several times throughout the movie by building intense, dramatic, and character-focused scenes of action and suspense. But to get to these masterfully constructed scenes, we're forced to sit through tedious, uneventful, confusing, and unnecessarily elongated on-screen moments. We know it could have been so much better because many scenes in Sicario were nearly flawless - and this is what makes the movie frustrating and, overall, somewhat disappointing.

I think I speak on behalf of moviegoers everywhere when I say I have better things to do with my time than stare at a screen and watch countless repetitive shots of the faces of Benicio Del Toro, Josh Brolin, and Emily Blunt as they look out to western landscapes from a car/plane/truck window. My idea of a good movie is not 45 minutes of confusing narratives and little dialogue sandwiched together by breathtaking opening and concluding scenes which show nothing but promise from the filmmakers. These ending and beginning scenes may explain some of the lulls heavily felt in the middle of Sicaio, but they do not excuse them.

I guess you could say I went into this film the same way Emily Blunt's character went into the events of Sicario. Her character, FBI Agent Kate Macer, is eager for a good outcome but doesn't exactly get what she had signed up for. After witnessing her comrades brutally killed at a Mexican cartel bust gone wrong, Kate volunteers to work with a task force assigned to take down the men responsible for the massacre. The team, led by Matt (Josh Brolin) and Alejandro (Benicio Del Toro), consistently misleads Kate - changing destinations last minute and even putting her in deadly situations. All the while, she fears those to blame are going unpunished as she is used as a puppet for the men's ulterior motives, but refuses to turn her back on the situation.

One thing I must say the movie did flawlessly is how well the movie's actors did bringing their superbly-written characters to life. Emily Blunt, donned as an action heroine since 2012's Looper, finally sold me as a believable genre heroine. After playing relatively one-dimensional characters in Looper and Edge of Tomorrow, she has the chance to play a believable and vulnerable human character who still knows how to show brutality. Her facial expressions and body language display a complete character immersion - one scene sticking out being where she's visibly but subtly trembling as she tries to recover from the events of the opening scene.

Del Toro and Brolin also deliver performances that will be sure be considered career highlights - Del Toro establishing a grim and ruthless presence with Brolin supporting his movies with comedy, charisma, and indifference toward the consideration of others.  As Alejandro, Del Toro takes over the latter half of the movie with a commanding and astounding presence, showing his true colors as a man you would have no desire to cross paths with.

Additionally, Sicario provides many moments for these characters to prove how strongly-established they are. There are nearly a dozen scenes in the movie where the tension is so high I was genuinely concerned for the players and unsure of the outcome. When the movie (finally) gets to these scenes, it holds nothing back, and isn't afraid to shake you in your seat with the sudden bloody death of those in front of you.

With that said, it is a shame that these scenes were preceded by the first half of this movie. While not without its moments, this hour or so of the movie took away from the build-up the film could have had going throughout, especially if it were 20 minutes shorter. There were many ideas, themes, characters, and motives that could have been explored better if they did things better. Honestly, Sicario would have made a great second season of "True Detective," but as a result of its cinematic nature, time was mismanaged, pace was lost, and characters and scenes that deserved a better overall production didn't get one. Sicario's moments of sheer brilliance shouldn't be overlooked. Having said that, that terrible chunk in the middle shouldn't either.

Rating: 3/5