Sicario: Day of the Soldado aims for some lofty ideals and attempts a Godfather-esque conclusion, but it can’t escape the departure of director Denis Villeneuve.
The first entry in the Sicario series is a masterpiece of high stakes tension wrapped into a standard revenge plot. Back in 2015, Director Denis Villeneuve brought a signature flair and attention that was there in his previous films, like Prisoners, and what most people have now seen in bigger films Arrival and Blade Runner 2049. If you expect to see that level of mastery here, you will be thoroughly disappointed. That’s not meant as a knock on director Stefano Sollima; It’s simply highlighting the gap or difference between their styles. One seemed tailor made to this series (Villeneuve) and the other felt like a stretch (Sollima).
That’s not to say the attempt is completely wasted: Sollima is still able to pull out great performances from Benicio del Toro and Josh Brolin. It should be said how much I love the chemistry between these two even when the plot puts them against one another. The sequel’s premise makes sense as a logical progression into the series…until it doesn’t. I’m usually a pretty big fan of Taylor Sheridan’s writing, especially with the first Sicario and his own directorial outings (Hell or High Water, Wind River). However, where those films and the themes they choose to tackle usually work well in concert, Soldado falls pretty flat.
Soldado attempts to expand the war on one druglord into a full scale war on drugs in a way that muddies the water a bit too much. Are we making a critique on American tactics in South America? Afghanistan? Why would we have the appetite for one style of war and not the other? Soldado uses different elements interchangeable to suit the needs of the plot, but fails to stop and flesh out why those don’t necessarily work well together.
That brings us to the ending I referenced at the jump: del Toro’s character takes a young, emerging hit-man under his wing that reminded me of Michael Corleone’s final turn in the first Godfather, except it lacked the emotional impact. Had different elements come together in a satisfying way, this could have been a seminal moment for the series and warranted further exploration in the eventual third entry. Without it, it’s clear this series is headed toward cash grab territory…if it’s not there already. If you’re deadset on watching Soldado, do so for the performances from Brolin and del Toro. Otherwise, you will likely get confused by the muddled social commentary and the failure to tie all the interesting pieces together.
Sicario: Day of the Soldado: 5 out of 10
Kenneth “Commander” Shipp has had opinions on movies since he was a kid…even if that meant talking to himself. He loves tackling the issues involved with our modern blockbusters while still enjoying the deep dives into the films you may have glossed over. You may still see him comment on his other loves (video games and television) whenever he has time. You can catch all his movie reviews here and listen to him on our weekly podcasts when they start back in August!!
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