Sicario: Day of the Soldado

In this sequel to 2015’s somewhat successful film Sicario, which was essentially the Hollywood treatment given to the war against drugs on the border between the U.S. and Mexico, federal agent Matt Graver (Josh Brolin) teams up again with the extremely temperamental and violent Alejandro (Benicio Del Toro) as the Mexican cartels have begun trafficking terrorists across the U.S. border. Now, the general rule of thumb is: most live-action/non-animated sequels suck. However, this movie is very in-focus – just as good, if not better than its first installment. You really leave the theater actually wanting a third film. Why? Because the actors are so good. Brolin and Del Toro, even if they’re playing to their type, just make sense in this story – they make it easy for the viewer to suspend their disbelief. And the writing is wonderful. As with the original Sicario, this was written by Taylor Sheridan, who is seemingly one of Hollywood’s most consistent underdog writers right now. Everything Sheridan has written/touched/created has been decent/top-notch: Hell or High Water, Wind River, and the new TV series starring Kevin Costner, Yellowstone (it’s a lot like Longmire, but better, check it out if you haven’t).

[R]