Horst in Translation ([email protected])
"Sicario: Day of the Soldado" is a new American/Italian 2-hour movie released this year in 2018 and the writer is Italian Stefano Sollima as Denis Villeneuve did not return for this sequel, but the script is again by recent Oscar nominee Taylor Sheridan, maybe the biggest new star when it comes to writers who were actors previously (and still are to some extent). If you have seen the first "Sicario", you vaguely know what to expect here. Or do you really? Well, at least in terms of atmosphere, grit and tone I guess. Music as well, even if Johann Johannsson died under tragic circumstances. But yeah, honestly I did not see too many parallels. Brolin and Del Toro are back at the center of it all, but Blunt is not. And the two guys' characters feel like something from a completely different film too at times. The parallels are just not too frequent or considerable I must say, this could have worked as a standalone film for sure too. But yeah, they obviously wanted to get many of these who loved the original back into the theaters and you cannot blame them for that. The two main characters are not as evil this time or well lets say more on the good side as obviously Blunt could not take that idealistic filler again. The subject is also completely different. The sicario/contract killer element is almost non-existent this time with the exception of the ending that hints at a third film even maybe, maybe one with Del Toro only, he is probably the star of the franchise as he came close to the Oscar nomination in the first film. But back to this one here: There are many pretty good moments in my opinion, some that may have you on the edge of your seat. The atmosphere and locations fit in very well with the story overall too. The acting is good from start to finish. The element of bad luck / coincidence that almost costs Del Toro's character his life in the end was very smart and intriguing on "No Country for Old Men" level when he sees the teenager early on in a fairly tragic meeting. The story with the girl does not feel like one initially that will really play a huge role until the very end, but the way it did, it worked without a doubt. What else? Sound mixing and design are top-notch without a doubt, maybe the area where the film has the bestg chance for an Oscar nomination. The same amount like the first it will not receive again, but that's fine as I think it is slightly inferior to the first, but regardless of the question whether you liked the first, it's worth seeing. A far more masculine film this time for sure. The way Del Toro basically comes back from the dead is fairly epic to be honest, shocking stuff, also his ride in the car later on. In short, I'd definitely watch a third Sicario movie if they decide to make one two or three years from now. Moments of "cool comedy" if you want to call it like that are a rarity, it's all about the drama this time. Any major weaknesses? Perhaps the politics involvement, but also only because it's probably not on par with everything else, not because it's bad or something. It actually makes very much sense and shows convincingly how the strongest and best trained men are impossible when it comes to saving theirselves against the influential ones in suits. The more I think about it, the better it works too, maybe just a bit underelaborated or for the sake of it all. Does not take away from the overall quality of these 120 minutes. Not at all. No hesitation for me when deciding between thumbs-up and thumbs-down, it's the former of course. Go see it. On the big screen.
