Sicario: Day of the Soldado is the sequel to 2015's masterful Sicario. It was one of my favorite movies from that year. But it's also not exactly a movie you would think would/should have a sequel. It did, after all, seem to tell a single, stand alone story. But then Taylor Sheridan, the screenwriter of both films (he also wrote 2016's Hell or High Water and wrote and directed Wind River from last year) came out said that he had actually envisioned this as a trilogy. So now we get this movie. While it was nice to know that Sheridan, who wrote both films, and two out of the three main actors (both Benicio Del Toro and Josh Brolin reprise their roles while Emily Blunt whose character had a clear arc that seemed to have come to a conclusion) are back, there was a pause for concern. Besides Blunt not coming, the other reason why the first movie was as masterful as it was arguably was because of director Denis Villenueve's sure hand at the helm. Also not coming back was cinematographer Roger Deakins, though his absence isn't as detrimental. Fortunately, any concerns proved largely unwarranted. Though Sicario: Day of the Soldado is not nearly as masterful or powerful as the first one and the movie clearly has it's flaws, it's a solid enough entry on it's own.
The plot of the movie revolves around a plot to kidnap the 16 year old daughter of a Mexican drug cartel kingpin and make it look like a rival cartel did it so that it encites a war between cartels near the border. Why and to what end? To be honest, I'm not really sure. It all has to do with a couple of terrorist suicide bombings in the US from terrorists believed to have been smuggled in by the cartel through the Mexican/US border. After the bombings, Matt Graver, Josh Brolin's character, is tasked with starting a war between the cartels and he brings along his asset from the first movie, Alajandro, played by Benicio Del Toro, since the girl they are to kidnap is the daughter of the kingpin who had Alejandro's family killed a while back. That's the extent of what I'll say of the plot though if you've seen the trailer for the movie, it actually gives away more. In fact, it gives away too much. But I suppose that is typical of trailers these days.
Though Sicario: Day of the Soldado is a solid, well made, well acted movie with some tense moments, you realize just how invaluable both Emily Blunt and Denis Villenueve were to making that first movie so special. Though Stefano Sollima, filling in for Villenueve, does a good job with keeping the movie moving at a good pace and with the action scenes, he lacks Villenueve's ability to generate and maintain a real foreboding sense of dread. And without a character like Emily Blunt's from the first one, there is no conduit into this dark world for the audience. There isn't really any characters to latch onto. There isn't anyone really to root for. I suppose there is the kidnapped girl, Isabela, that we are meant to root for, but her character isn't sufficiently developed and that is disappointing because there are hints that she may not be entirely innocent herself because of her first scene and the fact that there are hints that she's aware of who her father is and what he's done. And I'm not saying that Alejandro (Benicio Del Toro) and Matt (Josh Brolin) aren't interesting characters, though Alejandro was more interesting in the first one when his character was largely seeped in mystery until it's shockingly revealed just how far he's willing to go at the end of the moviewhen his character becomes brutal, ruthless, pretty much without a conscious. This movie tries to humanize him and Matt and it made them feel like different characters than the ones we saw in the first one.
Perhaps the most disappointing thing about this movie was Taylor Sheridan's screenplay. The first one made the wise decision to make Emily Blunt the central character and her character had a complete arc that helped made that such a memorable movie. Here, character development is almost nil. Though I suppose Matt's character is developed somewhat. And as far as Alejandro, the biggest reveal we learn in this movie compared to the first one is that his daughter was deaf. Also, there's a sub plot involving a kid who is recruited into a cartel that takes away too much screen time and whose only real purpose is to set up the next, theoretically, final chapter of this trilogy (if Sheridan gets his way).
Despite these flaws though, Sicario: Day of the Soldado is a well made, gripping yarn. It could have been better. The characters and situations should have fleshed out more. Alejandro winds up as a protector to Isabela and I wish the movie would have developed that more. We never find out why Alejandro becomes so attached to Isabela when we know from the first one that he's capable of monstrous actions. I guess we are suppose to sumise that she reminds him of his daughter, but the movie never develops that relationship enough. Likewise, Matt makes some decisions late in the movie that also doesn't really gel with what we see from him in the first movie. But I was still engrossed and even, occasionally gripped by the movie. And I do look forward to the third one should this make enough money to justify it to be made.
Grade: B
