imperfection is perfection
Sporadic film reviews by a wanna-be filmmaker
SICARIO: DAY OF THE SOLDADO [2018]
After the amazing direction and writing of the original film, it was clear that a sequel would never come close to matching the tense atmosphere and the detailed characters that populated the realistic world of Sicario. However, I did not think that this could have been so… Average. And in so many ways.
Ditching most of the tension of the original film, each action scene is simply that: action. No suspense. No surprises. In fact, this movie is incredibly predictable, treating the audience as if they are stupid. The amount of times I thought ‘of COURSE that happened’ were numerous. And I am not one who tries to guess twists. Ever.
Another unsurprising aspect of the film was the ending, causing me to involuntarily yell ‘oh buuullllshit!’ as the credits began to roll.
Why? Let us just say that there will probably be a third entry, perhaps turning an incredible film, one of the best of 2015, into a goddamned franchise. As if we needed another one.
The plot begins on an interesting note, but doesn’t go anywhere meaningful and is left incomplete considering what is hinted at during the first act, as if the writer took the easy way out instead of following up on what that first act suggested, which was legitimately interesting. A pity that most of that didn’t come to fruition.
Compared to the last three films he wrote, this is a very disappointing entry from Taylor Sheridan. It feels confused, opening with terrorist attacks and an interrogation of one kept alive, only to abandon the idea of terrorists crossing the border completely, rendering the opening of the film near useless and almost entirely unrelated to the rest of the film.
One aspect of the writing that did make its way to this sequel were the characters Josh Brolin and Benecio Del Toro play. Matt Graver’s (Brolin) character returns with the same, take-no-prisoners, dirty approach to this line work, and his incredibly dark sense of humour was preserved perfectly. Alejandro (Del Toro) unfortunately loses some of the sense of mystery that surrounded him; this obviously can be attributed to the fact that this is a sequel, but the writing is also a problem. We learn a little too much about him. Perhaps this is a good thing, but the mystery that surrounded him in the original was one of the principle reasons for him being great in the original.
The acting by both though, and everyone involved, is pitch perfect. This is certainly a polished film.
The direction though is somewhat average, but this again is when compared to the first film, as Dennis Villeneuve created some amazing set-pieces. It must be said that there are a few sequences that are well executed, but as said, there is no tension. No white-knuckle moments are to be found here. It isn’t really that thrilling. It’s just another bloody action film.
The soundtrack borrows heavily from the original film, which makes sense considering Jóhann Jóhannsson passed away earlier this year. The film is dedicated to him, and I somehow missed that one of my favourite composers had passed away, and we are lucky to be left with so many incredible scores that he created. This realisation that he had passed though was more surprising than anything in the film, which can’t be a good thing.
Despite the notable drop in quality, the film does establish some interesting points. Even though it was, again, obvious he would say it, Matt comments early 
that today the most valuable commodity coming across the border is people. The brutal nature of coyotes and the attitudes of all involved is also explored. Questions are raised about the tactics used by the US in these scenarios, including the technology they have at their disposal. Much like the original then, this is unbiased. The main question seems to be: how far is too far when it comes to dealing with problems like this?
This is worth half a sixer. Perhaps four out of six if you forget the original, but that is a hard thing to do when two characters reprise their roles.
3/6
12 Comments on “SICARIO: DAY OF THE SOLDADO [2018]”
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imperfection is perfection 
Ouchie. I know this movie has spurred a wide range of reactions. I have found myself in the ‘Loved It’ camp. I won’t rehash my review but I found myself once again swept up in the Sicario world. Wanted to see it again before it left theaters but it didn’t happen.
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That is awesome that you liked it mate! I’ll have to watch it again when it is out on BR for sure, I must admit there are a few scenes that stick in my head. Plus Brolin and Del Toro just kill it. I’ll have to read your review mate, I need to start reading the blogs I had bookmarked again, I formatted my computer and lost them all!!
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I really disliked this. I didn’t want a sequel to begin with, then I felt better about it going in and just ended up even more disappointed. That ending was trash.
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Oh god yeah that ending really shitted me off. I didn’t reeeally dislike it but this was very average in a lot of ways
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Great post 🙂 I have yet to see this, but I did feel that the original was very good, but then again, Denis Villeneuve directed that one. Anyway, keep up the great work as always 🙂
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yeah without Deakins and Villeneuve its a totally different feel. And I had no idea Johhan Johhansen (sp) had died, so the soundtrack is mostly reprisals of the original. Its good action flick but it lacks tension and surprise. Its hard not to compare it to the original when two characters return
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Yikes! You posted this on the 2nd? Sorry man! (I blame my WordPress feed a little bit too. Its been shit lately.)
I think this is a pretty fair and reasonable point of view. Soldado is definitely a step down from Sicario, and especially when you consider there was no changing of hands in the writing department. Sheridan has been better before. All that said, man, for the first time in a long time I am eagerly anticipating this to be a franchise. I really think Hollywood has played that shit out but when Brolin and Del Toro are going to be this cynical and yet so compelling to watch, I’m all in.
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Yeah those guys make the movie. I still can’t stand franchises though. That ending really pissed me off, and the kidnapping story kinda went nowhere. And it was insanely predictable, I’ve never been one to try and guess what will happen, but in this one almost everything was unsurprising. I dunno, others seemed to like it a lot.
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Yeah I loved it and thought the ending was genius.
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hehe its one of those rare moments when we disagree =] Its cool to know someone who doesn’t get all defensive if I have an opposing viewpoint. Too many people are like that, mostly IRL life
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I gotta admit tho I’d love to see those two characters again. They are brilliant, Though I thought it was a bit silly that Del Toro didn’t even seem to have any sort of scar on his face. But hey, its a movie. Hopefully the next one will have some tension like the first flick
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