Josh Brolin and Benicio Del Toro are back with a vengeance in “Sicario: Day of the Soldado,” a compelling crime drama with heavy-duty, real-life overtones relating to the problems the government faces with cartels on U.S.-Mexico border. The follow-up to director Denis Villeneuve’s acclaimed 2015 original, “Day of the Soldado” doesn’t so much feel like a sequel than it does a continuation of an expansive story line, where the focus on drug trafficking shifts to human trafficking and the threat of terrorists infiltrating the U.S. with the help of the cartels.
With Emily Blunt’s idealistic FBI agent from the first “Sicario” no longer a part of the equation, “Day of the Soldado” keys in on CIA heavy Matt Graver (Brolin), who is saddled with the daunting task of trying to derail a major cartel’s human trafficking operation and new practice of smuggling in ISIS terrorists into the U.S.
Hear Tim’s review of “Sicario: Day of the Soldado” with Tom Barnard on “The KQ Morning Show.” Segment begins 10 minutes in.
But since the mission is off the books and no use of military is involved for political reasons, Graver convinces U.S. Secretary of Defense James Riley (Matthew Modine) that the best way to take on the cartels is to start a war between them, which is done by kidnapping cartel kingpin Carlos Reyes’ young teen daughter (Isabella Moner) — and setting it up to look like another cartel is responsible. To help execute the mission, Graver brings back his mysterious Mexican operative Alejandro (Del Toro), whose stake in the game remains very personal since Reyes’ is the man responsible for killing his family.
Even though the film maintains the foreboding tone of he original “Sicario,” “Day of the Soldado” isn’t perfect, and it particularly gets muddled as director Stefano Sollima tries to juggle the main narrative with a sub-narrative about a teen boy (Elijah Rodriguez) getting in over his head as he joins a human trafficking operation. Fortunately, the film comes together when the story lines intersect, leading to brutal conclusion that leaves as many questions as there are answers.
While Brolin and Del Toro are terrific as usual, the real MVP of “Day of the Soldado” is screenwriter Taylor Sheridan, who wrote the script for the first “Sicario,” as well as “Hell or High Water” and “Wind River” (which he also directed). He has an incredible handle of bringing dark and violent tales of realism to light, and miraculously makes his stories engaging even though they can be depressing as hell. And while “Day of the Soldado” is coming out at an odd time as a summer movie release, hopefully the film will gain enough momentum for Sheridan’s screenplay to gain some recognition come fall. It’s far too important a story to ignore.
Lammometer: 7.5 (out of 10)
Tim Lammers reviews movies weekly for The KQ92 Morning Show,” “KARE 11 News at 11” (NBC), WCCO Radio, WJON-AM, KLZZ-FM, “The Tom Barnard Podcast” and “The BS Show” with Bob Sansevere.
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