Sicario

Dir: Denis Villeneuve

2015

*****

Conceived in 2010 during the height of the violence seen in Juárez, Sicario (Hitman) explores the often unorthodox tactics used by American and South American governments in combating the Cartel-run drug trade. The audience is kept in the dark for the best part of the film as is the film's protagonist, FBI Agent Kate Macer (played by Emily Blunt). After Macer and her team make a gruesome discovery at a Cartel address in Arizona that cost the lives of two officers, she and her right-hand man Reggie Wayne (Daniel Kaluuya) are recruited to a mysterious CIA task-force who ask them to help them catch the men responsible for their team-mates murder. They are teamed up with U.S. Marsials and a Delta Force squad lead by Matt Graver (Josh Brolin) and his partner, the mysterious Alejandro Gillick (played by Benicio del Toro). After an nail-biting first mission to recover a prisoner from Mexico across the boarder to the US, Macer starts to wonder if everything they are doing is entirely above board. As the film progresses, more and more is revealed about what it is the team hopes to achieve, how they intend to achieve it and who they really are. While Macer and Wayne understand the idea of fighting fire with fire but the ethics of the situation, morals and the threat to their own safety weighs heavy. The answer to their questions and the reason behind all the secrecy is eventually revealed in an intense and fairly devastating manner. What follows is even more shocking and then the final conclusion is nothing short of chilling, especially when you think of the validity of the situation. Just when you think there is a reprieve, you realize that you've just been set up for another startling revelation. Sicario is a non-stop thriller that is consistently intriguing and almost painfully intense - it's what director Denis Villeneuve does best. The performances are impressive, particularly from Emily Blunt and Benicio del Toro, with Josh Brolin and Daniel Kaluuya in strong supporting roles. The brilliant score adds even more tension to the story and the direction and cinematography is exquisite, with every frame thought-out and composed beautifully. It's the ultimate crime-thriller/special-ops action film, with a little bit of politics thrown in for good measure. I can't fault it and I don't want to, one of 2015's best.