Sicario surprised us in 2015 with a movie so compelling and visually pleasing that it made lots of top ten lists and managed to get three Oscar nominations which were Best Cinematography, Best Original Score, and Best Sound Editing that year. Three years later, a sequel would arrive in cinemas to continue the story of the sicario – “hitman” in English; a sequel that nobody on Earth asked for.
Sicario: Day of the Soldado follows Matt Graver (Josh Brolin) who is tasked to carry out a mission to start a war among the Mexican drug cartels to ultimately combat them. He is given free will by the US Department of Defence and is allowed to get unethical in order to succeed in this mission. And who better to be unethical with if it isn’t the sicario himself, Alejandro Gillick (Benicio del Toro).
Straight of the bat, Sicario: Day of the Soldado does not hold back on its violence and shock value when a bunch of suicide bombers blow themselves up in an occupied supermarket; similarly shocking to the dead bodies they found within the walls of a house in the first movie. From there, the movie is seen taking familiar steps from the first movie to hopefully achieve its successes. Though a bit lacking in its intensity level, this movie still manages to achieve high-octane action scenes which will leave the audience gripping to their seats.
However, Sicario: Day of the Soldado failed midway when they introduce Isabela Reyes (Isabela Moner), the daughter of a high-profiled Mexican drug cartel who is being used as bait to further lure her father out from hiding.
The movie feels unfocused the minute Isabela is introduced, switching from the CIA’s plan to create war among the cartels to the movie becoming a babysitting movie that dumbs down del Toro’s character who has the most fleshed out persona among the other lead characters. This whole subplot slows the movie way down with a conclusion that is unsatisfying to the audience. Whether or not it is a setup for the next movie, but as it stands now, it was just an unnecessary plot point that can be shaved off and move on to the initial reason why Sicario: Day of the Soldado happen.
Looking back at Sicario, Sicario: Day of the Soldado is a poor sequel of an original story which failed to recapture the heart and soul of its predecessor. Knowing it has Brolin and del Toro as its two leads, the movie was a let-down that does not fully utilises its two actors and their capability as performers. With an unfocused story, Sicario: Day of the Soldado will be forgotten and overshadowed by its prequel.
[3/5]
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