FruitOfTheVale
Superstar
Great acting and cinematography but the story was terrible.
Sicario (Official Thread)
- Thread starter FlyRy
- Start date
Roman Brady
Nobody Lives Forever
Jhoon
Spontaneous Mishaps and Hijinks
Terrible? What plot holes were there?
FruitOfTheVale
Superstar
All of the subplots were half-baked and the narrative timing was off at very important moments in the story.
The reveal of what happened to the sicario's family was mistimed and arguably unnecessary. The details of what happened are intended to shock the viewer and raise the stakes but a lot of the power of 'Medellin' was not knowing what happened to him, when they revealed that you could see the ending (murdering the boss's kids and wife) from a mile away. Had they simply left it at "what happened to your daughter and wife was nothing personal" the resolution of the scene would have been more powerful.
The subplot with the Mexican father and his family was a lot of build up for no pay-off, the character really didn't have jack shyt to do with any part of the larger story. The fact that he turned out to be a Mexican "cop" pointed out the fact that the movie never made any attempt to look at law enforcement on the other side of the fence at all. The world the movie takes place in is incredibly under contextualized and under explained. For starters, how did a Columbian sicario end up intersecting with a Mexican cartel anyway?
The subplot with the Mexican father and his family was a lot of build up for no pay-off, the character really didn't have jack shyt to do with any part of the larger story. The fact that he turned out to be a Mexican "cop" pointed out the fact that the movie never made any attempt to look at law enforcement on the other side of the fence at all. The world the movie takes place in is incredibly under contextualized and under explained. For starters, how did a Columbian sicario end up intersecting with a Mexican cartel anyway?
I'll write more about what I found wrong with the plot later
FruitOfTheVale
Superstar
Also
The whole movie plays like Zero Dark Thirty in Juarez. It doesn't care to look at the actual drug politics in Juarez and instead throws an inconsequential medellin subplot on top of it to give it a semblance of political intrigue.
The leader of the strongest Mexican cartel at the height of the drug war doesn't have enough enemies to warrant having more than 4 goons to protect his own family? Lol
The crooked American cop scene is convenient beyond belief. The sicario just happened to be watching her in the middle of a hook-up? The movie doesn't bother to ask what the cop was being bribed to do either.
The crooked American cop scene is convenient beyond belief. The sicario just happened to be watching her in the middle of a hook-up? The movie doesn't bother to ask what the cop was being bribed to do either.
The whole movie plays like Zero Dark Thirty in Juarez. It doesn't care to look at the actual drug politics in Juarez and instead throws an inconsequential medellin subplot on top of it to give it a semblance of political intrigue.
god=nature=we'reFUCKED
Organize the non obvious
Magnificent and scary shyt!!
I highly recommend Coli Brehs! Especially if you thought Narcos was groundbreaking.
I highly recommend Coli Brehs! Especially if you thought Narcos was groundbreaking.
Jhoon
Spontaneous Mishaps and Hijinks
in my head, i believe the attorney maybe was a laison between the columbians and the mexicans. Having learned all they could, they got rid of his family.
The dirty cop wasnt the only one. There was also the bank manager. What person allows deposits for 5 years and never felt compelled to investigate where the money was from? Brolin figured Blunt didnt possess the intellect to realize she was way over head, and they knew she would be perfect bait.
The mexican drug lord flies solo. As you can see, this guy was far enough from the action, but 1 hour away from giving the orders. dikk cheney lives in montana, but he can get to dc in no time.
The dirty cop wasnt the only one. There was also the bank manager. What person allows deposits for 5 years and never felt compelled to investigate where the money was from? Brolin figured Blunt didnt possess the intellect to realize she was way over head, and they knew she would be perfect bait.
The mexican drug lord flies solo. As you can see, this guy was far enough from the action, but 1 hour away from giving the orders. dikk cheney lives in montana, but he can get to dc in no time.
It kinda irked me that they spoke in english in the climatic scene at the end
Jhoon
Spontaneous Mishaps and Hijinks
I think he was trying to make him comfortable. The guy genuinely seemed like his family was going to make it out alive. Surely he wasnt that naive.
Silver Surfer
Veteran
You are so off base its comical...The character of Alejandro was being developed with cryptic clues since his introduction. The conversation he had with the fed to when they got to the military base and he spoke with a former colleague. His interaction with the fed and his word choices with her further sealed that the audience was to believe he has a backstory and not just some mindless killer hired by the CIA.
And you are wrong about the ending being completely predictable. I have talked to 5 people who have seen the movie independently of each other and they all say people in the audience all were speaking in a surprise gasp at the dinner table shootings.
The Mexican cop was a great segway to how low-level players in the dope game easily get caught up....
The wife clearly knew her husband was corrupt and they didn't interract...however the son was hopeful just to play soccer with his father...
In the end when he knew his fate was sealed..he mentioned his family and still died even though he was just a mule.....this plays into the whole gray area involved with the war on drugs
And as far as how the intersecting happened....he was a lawyer from the cocain capital of the world so his backstory can easily be fashioned that he was a prosecutor of some sorts or was contracted by law enforcement and the cartels put a hit on his family.....after that he turned into a specialist of sorts and is a asset for the CIA
FruitOfTheVale
Superstar
Where did I say the character backstory was unnecessary? I said the choice to put an extremely expositional reveal scene 10 minutes before the dinner table scene was unnecessary.
Lol and? Maybe the people you talked to don't watch many revenge films, it was predictable.
IMO The film botched all of its opportunities to personify any of the characters within the drug trade. For a movie purportedly about the drug war there are no developed characters to represent any part of it.
Denis Vileunueve is one of the most talented newer directors I am aware of....I think everything he has made is worth watching, and with 'Sicario', he continues that trend, however, he also continues to make movies that are visually strong, well acted, and very well directed, with underwhelming stories, and scripts that are very lacking. 'Sicario' has so many strong elements to it, you wonder where the heart of the movie went. It makes some somewhat half hearted musings about the drug wars, and their origin, and effects on the people who live through them.....but ultimatley was a very predictable revenge thriller in the end, with a lot of over glamorized elements that hurt the movie, but don't detract from it's good qualities.
The geography and inter cartel politics is all off...and this is distracting and irritating to me, but for the average viewer, it will go unnoticed. The movies opening scene is dope as fukk, the score, the direction.....goes over the top with the discovery of 42 bodies, which to date has NEVER happened in the US, and likely never will. This is all part of a common thing in Hollywoods portrayal of the drug wars, taking a lot of headlines and kind of inserting them into a movie, whether they make complete sense or not....which I think takes away from the impact of the material.
I loved the Juarez scenes for the most part.....again, the directors ability to create tension is incredible. Juarez looked like Juarez, even if it wasn't shot there. I didn't like the very heavy handed and obvious, and also unlikely way they showed the horrors of Juarez in a quick ride through, conveniently witnessing the aftermath of a public hanging, and idling by missing posters of women....alluding to the femicides of Juarez. Felt a little cheap and easy for the subject matter. Made Juarez seem like a haunted house ride. Same with the look at Juarez in the aftermath. Looked like a video game. The shootout and rising action was dope as fukk. Very good work.
Del Toro's character....I am less impressed by the script and his role, then then acting, with his dead, haunted stare and delivery, Del Toro turns in a great performance. But, his character? A lawyer from Juarez.....turned assassin vigilante? Come on. There are enough fascinating stories in Mexico, to not invent outlandish bullshyt.....then the whole Colombian thing....felt so Hollywood and cartoonish...let me give a quick analogy, VERY few of the murders in Mexico are committed by with silenced pistols, by men with tactical gear....they are dirty, brutal executions that take place in the street, taco stands, movie theaters, playgrounds, resturaunts, by desperate men who don't live very long, and aren't paid very much......this plays too much like a cheap Vin Diesel type thriller then a serious look at drug trafficking. If you want to say thats what he wanted to make, I would say you are wrong, because he throws in all sorts of philosophy and statements about the violence. Reminds me of 'A Man Apart', with much better acting and direction, but very much the same. You cannot compare this to 'Traffic' in any way.
I could go on, and I may later, I just wanted to get some thoughts down.....very, very strong elements in a subpar movie, and cant' transcend a weak script and lacking story. It didn't have the heart and wrenching brutality it wanted to.
The geography and inter cartel politics is all off...and this is distracting and irritating to me, but for the average viewer, it will go unnoticed. The movies opening scene is dope as fukk, the score, the direction.....goes over the top with the discovery of 42 bodies, which to date has NEVER happened in the US, and likely never will. This is all part of a common thing in Hollywoods portrayal of the drug wars, taking a lot of headlines and kind of inserting them into a movie, whether they make complete sense or not....which I think takes away from the impact of the material.
I loved the Juarez scenes for the most part.....again, the directors ability to create tension is incredible. Juarez looked like Juarez, even if it wasn't shot there. I didn't like the very heavy handed and obvious, and also unlikely way they showed the horrors of Juarez in a quick ride through, conveniently witnessing the aftermath of a public hanging, and idling by missing posters of women....alluding to the femicides of Juarez. Felt a little cheap and easy for the subject matter. Made Juarez seem like a haunted house ride. Same with the look at Juarez in the aftermath. Looked like a video game. The shootout and rising action was dope as fukk. Very good work.
Del Toro's character....I am less impressed by the script and his role, then then acting, with his dead, haunted stare and delivery, Del Toro turns in a great performance. But, his character? A lawyer from Juarez.....turned assassin vigilante? Come on. There are enough fascinating stories in Mexico, to not invent outlandish bullshyt.....then the whole Colombian thing....felt so Hollywood and cartoonish...let me give a quick analogy, VERY few of the murders in Mexico are committed by with silenced pistols, by men with tactical gear....they are dirty, brutal executions that take place in the street, taco stands, movie theaters, playgrounds, resturaunts, by desperate men who don't live very long, and aren't paid very much......this plays too much like a cheap Vin Diesel type thriller then a serious look at drug trafficking. If you want to say thats what he wanted to make, I would say you are wrong, because he throws in all sorts of philosophy and statements about the violence. Reminds me of 'A Man Apart', with much better acting and direction, but very much the same. You cannot compare this to 'Traffic' in any way.
I could go on, and I may later, I just wanted to get some thoughts down.....very, very strong elements in a subpar movie, and cant' transcend a weak script and lacking story. It didn't have the heart and wrenching brutality it wanted to.
duckbutta
eienaar van mans
lol at some of the shyt listed in these spoilers 
I can't believe a movie this basic still went over some of the people in this thread head
Did people in this thread even catch how Alejandro and Alarcon are the exact same character...peep what Alejandro did to Silvio and what Alarcon said to him in the end...
How about Kate being a muse for a drug mule
I can't believe a movie this basic still went over some of the people in this thread head
Did people in this thread even catch how Alejandro and Alarcon are the exact same character...peep what Alejandro did to Silvio and what Alarcon said to him in the end...
How about Kate being a muse for a drug mule