“Sicario”

MOVIE REVIEW

A 2015 American action thriller starring Emily Blunt, Benicio Del Toro, and Josh Brolin, Sicario was directed by Denis Villeneuve and written by Taylor Sheridan. The movie centers on an ethical FBI Special Agent who is hired by a government task team to assassinate the boss of a formidable and violent Mexican drug cartel.

In Chandler, Arizona, Sonora Cartel’s secret house, FBI Special Agents Kate Macer and Reggie Wayne conduct a raid and discover hundreds of dead bodies hidden in the walls. Two police officers are killed outside by an explosive booby trap. During the raid, Matt Graver, a CIA officer, and the mysterious Alejandro Gillick, a former Mexican prosecutor and tax inspector turned CIA-trained assassin, suggest Kate and invite her to join a Joint Task Force. Their goal is to find and capture Sonora’s lieutenant Manuel Daz, who is now hiding out in the US.

To extradite Guillermo Daz, the team—which consists of Delta Force operatives, Deputy US Marshals, and CIA personnel—flies to Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. The crew is ambushed by cartel hitmen as they cross the border between El Paso and Juarez, but Delta Force quickly dispatches them. Kate is forced to kill a Federal during the gunfight, and the carnage clearly disturbs her. Alejandro tortures Guillermo back in the United States after learning that the cartel smuggles cocaine through a tunnel near Nogales, Sonora. In the meantime, Matt is confronted by Kate, who learns that the true goal is to sabotage Dáz's drug activities so that he may direct them to his boss, drug lord Fausto Alarcón. Uneasy, Kate invites Reggie to stand at her side as support.

A bank where Dáz's money was laundered is raided by the task force. After finding financial evidence, Kate and Reggie want to sue Daz, but they are advised to back down to safeguard the business. Reggie meets Ted, a Phoenix police officer, in a bar. At Kate's apartment, Ted and Kate start to get close, but Kate soon finds out Ted is involved with the cartel. In the subsequent struggle, Ted chokes Kate until Alejandro shows up and takes control of the situation. Ted was severely beaten by Alejandro and Matt in order to force him to divulge the identities of other Daz-affiliated officers.

The crew gets the news that Daz has been sent back to Mexico and gets ready to raid the tunnel close to Nogales. By virtue of the CIA's inability to conduct independent operations within US territory, Matt informs Kate and Reggie that their participation is a technological necessity. Reggie tells Kate they should leave, but she insists on sticking to find out the real reason for the trip. Reggie is furious. Kate pursues Alejandro into Mexico as a gunfight with the cartel starts. She witnesses him kidnapping Silvio, a dishonest Sonora policeman who serves as one of Dáz's cocaine couriers. Alejandro shoots Kate in her Kevlar vest as she tries to arrest him, then drives off with Silvio while holding a gun to their heads. Kate approaches Matt on the American side of the border, where he explains that the mission is part of a larger effort to combine the cartels into one organization that the U.S. can more easily govern.

Alejandro, who had previously worked for the Medellin Cartel in Colombia, was recruited to kill Alarcón, who had been the Juárez prosecutor who had given the order to kill Alejandro's wife and daughter. After stopping Daz's car and ordering Daz to go to Alarcón's estate, Alejandro kills Silvio. He arrives and promptly executes Alarcón, his wife, two boys, Daz, and the guards.

The following day, Alejandro shows up at Kate's apartment and holds her at gunpoint while demanding that she sign a document attesting to the legality of the entire operation. Alejandro turns to face her as she points her gun at him as he walks away, but she can't bring herself to fire. Silvio's widow is in Nogales watching her kid play football when there is a quick flurry of gunfire in the distance.

In order to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival, Sicario was chosen. Sicario received praise for its narrative, direction, musical choices, photography, and performances by Blunt, Brolin, and del Toro. At the 88th Academy Awards, the movie received nominations for Best Original Score, Best Sound Editing, and Best Cinematography. Also, it received BAFTA nods for Best Cinematography, Best Film Music, and Best Supporting Actor.

WATCH THE REVIEW VIDEO FOR MORE...