Andrew Baron-Vartian
As a technical piece, Sicario: Day of the Soldado works well. It will keep you on the edge of your seat filled with suspense and curiosity as to where this film is going. The problem becomes “why are we going in this direction?” or even “what direction are we going?”. Unfortunately, this is the downfall of Soldado; it works on many levels but upon viewing the film you beckon to question on an idealogical level as to what this movie is trying to say. This ultimately falls on our writer Taylor Sheridan and director Stefano Sollima. There is a disconnect between these two; as if Sheridan wanted to focus more on the characters/Sicario lore and Sollima was more interested in displaying the tense chaos and violence of this world.
On the other hand; Soldado has great cinematography, very well executed action set pieces and a suspenseful coherent storyline. Though the film lives and dies by it’s performances and I am pleased to say Josh Brolin and Benicio Del Toro are yet again sincerely fantastic. Del Toro’s nails every single beat in his expanded performance. Yet it’s newcomer Isabela Moner who sincerely surprised me with her portrayal as a kidnapped victim. Moner has tons of raw talent and a strong bright future ahead. Ultimately Sicario: Day of the Soldado is solid, it’s biggest problem is its own unrealized potential. If you loved the first one and are curious to see where the story goes, it’s definitely worth checking out. Though I doubt we will see it convert new fans over to this now unexpected franchise.
Writing: 6/10
Direction: 6/10
Cinematography: 8/10
Acting: 10/10
Editing: 8/10
Sound: 8/10
Score/Soundtrack: 7/10
Production Design: 7/10
Casting: 8/10
Effects: 9/10
Overall Score: 7.7/10
Ranking Order:
Sicario – 9.3/10
Sicario: Day of the Soldado – 7.7/10
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