Sicario (Official Thread)

[FruitOfTheVale]

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.

Cosign all of this

 

[Mikeatris]

Saw Sicario on Saturday and The Martian on Sunday both before the football games came on. The Martian is a good movie but Sicario goes hard as fuk

 

[be back in a bit]

Just came back from it. Loved it. The two hours flew by and when it was done I felt like I could watch another hour of this film. Great ending though, they nailed it.

 

[mr x]

Where does Villenueves rank with the GOAT Canadian directors?

villenueves, egoyan, cameron, jewison, reitman, cronenberg etc

 

[be back in a bit]

Where does Villenueves rank with the GOAT Canadian directors?

villenueves, egoyan, cameron, jewison, reitman, cronenberg etc

he's shooting up to the top at the rate he's going. If Blade Runner 2 is great too, he's gonna start being a contender.

 

[Raptor]

I felt like slitting my wrists after watching that movie, it was good but too austere for me You could tell the difesctor was influenced by No country for old men

 

[Raptor]

This movie refuses to be released nationwide. Shame

We got here in Australia. And you would think with all the debate about drug war and mexican migrant rights in the US, the director would try to promote the film

 

[shutterguy]

Saw Sicario last night............. that first scene . I was expecting a bit more action however the storyline kept me interested. They never really explained how Emily's partner got in on the assignment that she volunteered for, considering they just wanted her, I was glad to see him come along through the movie.

 

[Knicksman20]

Decent movie but the story jumped a bit & didn't seem cohesive to me at times. I thought the acting was solid enough to save this movie because the plot wasn't that good.

 

[shutterguy]

"Don't you ever point a weapon/gun at me!!"

 

[Roadie pipeher]

Saw this tonight.. Matched my expectations, a few qualms but overall and easily top ten movie this year.

 

[FlyRy]

@HHR did you peep

 

[HHR]

@HHR did you peep

Yup.

Still wrestling with it. Trying to reconcile what I wanted, with regards to Blunt's character, and the metaphor of the movie itself.......am going to watch again soon.

 

[FlyRy]

Yup.

Still wrestling with it. Trying to reconcile what I wanted, with regards to Blunt's character, and the metaphor of the movie itself.......am going to watch again soon.

Me too. I gave it the same score you did but i wanna see it again. Conflicted about it. I think i like prisoners more off first watch but this one has stuck with me

 

[BlackExcellence]

Watched it twice. Loved it. One of my favorite directors now. Also loved prisoners and enemy.