Sicario: Day of the Soldado

The fate of the women in the second Sicario is either to look on sadly (Catherine Keener) or to be rescued by men (Isabela Moner) who, when solving problems, apply the logic of “when force doesn’t work, use military force”. In this respect, the film does not much differ from its predecessor, though Sheridan’s ostentatious nihilism and desire to shoot a vicious film and vicious people take on parodic proportions. The “philosophy” of the film is best captured by the motto of Brolin’s character, “F*ck it all”. Sollima’s direction is mundane and Wolski only imitates Deakins through mannerisms. For the most part, the scenes are shallow and devoid of atmosphere and tension (because, among other things, all of the characters are such assholes that you do not care about them at all). The only authentic moment comes when Del Toro’s antihero can drop his forced macho pose for a moment and carry on some quite ordinary “human” dialogue (albeit with sign language). The extreme slowness given by the mechanical narrative (one bad plan is replaced by another, even worse plan, over and over again), the lack of catharsis and resulting unsatisfying resolution does not come across as an attempt to express existential anxiety caused by a world overrun with evil to such an extent that there is no way out, but rather only as the result of shoddy work and the compulsion to make a sequel at any cost. In the bizarre climax, where the remnants of logic vanish and we become witnesses to the birth of a monster, the film comes close in its exaggerated nature to the later work of Sam Peckinpah (e.g. Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia), but without the crucial sense of humour, which Taylor Sheridan unfortunately does not possess. This sequel is absolutely unnecessary, but it’s probably not the last one. I will be surprised if, after a week, I remember anything other than Josh Brolin’s stylish footwear (crocs) while inflicting psychological torture – the effectiveness of which, by the way, the film does not question in any way (unlike Zero Dark Thirty). 45% (28/06/2018)

The first reviews I saw for this were so hesitant and even negative that they cooled my interest to the point where I waited for the reaction of my favorite reviewer, and only then did I dare to sit in the dimness of the movie theater. There's no point in lying to myself that the biggest reason for seeing the sequel was the success of Sicario, which became a small cinematic revelation for many film fans. Stefano Sollima may not achieve the quality of Denis Villeneuve, but he is still an above-average filmmaker who is also close to the genre. Taylor Sheridan may have had a weaker moment with this one, and in fact, I feel like it's the weakest script I've seen from his workshop so far, but even here I don't find any reason for fundamental criticism. What worked in the first film - namely the atmosphere, characters, music, and style - has basically been successfully transferred to the sequel. The creators imitate the style of Sicario, but they do not copy the content. It's not a major title of the year, but it is a decent summer genre film where I didn't feel any disappointment from the money invested to buy my ticket. Overall impression: 75%. (19/07/2018)

Stefano Sollima sure is a brilliant filmmaker. He really had his fun with the Sicario sequel, although it was a shame that there were so few action scenes since I had so much fun watching them. They were real and raw, without a single drop of CGI and that’s something I can always appreciate. What was worse, however, was the actual script. There were so many twists and turns by the end that thought I was gonna die. I know that Tylor Sheridan’s proved himself over the years, but he really overdid it this time. This has to be the most botched up script of 2018. (28/12/2018)

The admirable intentions are unfortunately overshadowed by the routine of the execution and the script (especially in relation to the expectations). The story offers enough action in the space of two hours, confronts its protagonists in an interesting way, and ends in a Hollywoodesque and daring fashion, but I still wasn’t satisfied. The characters remain woefully underdeveloped and superficial, and the plot doesn't escalate as a self-contained complex work, but rather as an introductory episode of something much larger – something I'm still willing to forgive in the future, if a third part is made that will close and complete everything. What I’m not forgiving, however, is the lacklustre staging and the clumsy development of the story, which consists of a series of stacked plans and missions whose (non-)fulfilment only creates the backdrop for an interesting and dramatic, but unsatisfyingly ramified conflict between morality and pragmatism in a world without rules. Once again Brolin and Benicio's acting is top-notch and it’s their characters that make me look forward to the likely conclusion, but I'm hoping for a much more personal and thoughtful approach, this deep-faced yet emotionally cold action flick won't leave a great impression... 60% (17/09/2018)

It’s not Villeneuve and the screenplay is a bit wobbly, but Sicario 2 is still way above average. Arabs walking through Mexico to blow up supermarkets are giving the Yankees a headache, so Brolin is brought in to deal with it and he in turn orders Del Toro to deal with it. I like the contrast between the messy action here and the spectacular action of the first film. Loads of fantastic scenes, sign language with a farmer and an execution in the desert. It's really good, but the first one is simply better. And Deakins is sorely missed. (28/04/2019)