'Sicario: Day of the Soldado' Review

As the drug war on the U.S.-Mexico border rages on, cartels are suspected to be trafficking terrorists across the U.S. border. Sicario: Day of the Soldado escorts federal agent Matt Graver as he re-teams with the mysterious mercenary Alejandro to stage conflict between the cartels in response to the rising threat. However, in order to initiate the dispute, they must covertly kidnap the daughter of a Mexican crime lord under the guise of a rival cartel.

Sicario: Day of the Soldado effectively serves as a sequel to Sicario (although it's made more in the vein of a spin-off), and I've honestly questioned its existence ever since it was announced. This was primarily because key creatives Denis Villeneuve, Emily Blunt, Roger Deakins, and Jóhann Jóhannsson wouldn't be returning, and I must say their absence was sorely felt, but also because Day of the Soldado felt largely unnecessary. Sicario just didn't seem like a film that should be franchised due to its prestige and status as a gritty standalone story, but clearly someone else thought otherwise and here we are... Taking charge, Stefano Sollima substitutes for Villeneuve in the directors chair while Taylor Sheridan is one of the few holdovers from the first film as the sequel's credited screenwriter. 

Since Sheridan was sticking around, I held out hope this sequel might at least have a solid foundation in the form of a bang-up script. For the past three years, all three of Sheridan's sole screenplays which culminated in his "Frontier Trilogy" (Sicario, Hell or High Water, and Wind River) have been tremendous crime thrillers with a western tinge and gritty sentimentality. Unfortunately though, Sheridan's Day of the Soldado screenplay proved to be very run-of-the-mill in comparison to his previous efforts. The opening is fairly strong, but it all gets caught up in the bureaucracy behind the mission as opposed to the actual plot at hand. Speaking of plot, there's not really a satisfying resolution to the events whatsoever... It just kind of ends, and it felt like Sheridan wasn't sure of the direction he was headed. The ending is also total sequel-bait and was so stupid that I'm no longer interested in a planned Sicario 3 whatsoever. 

With a sequel, I think it’s important to retain some semblance of the original’s identity. Considering several key creative forces from the first film left, that automatically meant there were some big shoes to fill. I'd say it should have been a red flag that this film probably shouldn't have been made, but I'm not exactly a studio executive or Taylor Sheridan, am I? It's not even like the sequel just lost ordinary talent and needed replacements though. Denis Villeneuve, Roger Deakins, and Jóhann Jóhannsson are among the best directors, cinematographers, and composers who have worked in Hollywood of late. Sadly, Jóhann Jóhannsson died in February of this year so his absence couldn't really have been helped much (although I can't verify anywhere online if he was ever to involved in Day of the Soldado or not). In spite of the criticisms I've voiced so far and those I'm about to elaborate on, I really respect the filmmakers for including an "in-memorium" title card for Jóhann Jóhannsson during the credits. It was a very sweet, admirable thing for them to include that they didn't have to do, and it meant a lot to me as a film score junkie and fan of Jóhannsson's work. 

Anyways, sorry for that depressing detour, but I've listened to Jóhannsson's scores for Sicario and Arrival countless times and really appreciated his unique style as a composer. To get back on track, I read that director Stefano Sollima actually made the decision to enlist an entirely fresh crew to further distance himself from the first film and the producers agreed it would be for the best. This meant that the sequel essentially scrapped all creative forces other from Sheridan and specific cast members. Sollima, Dariusz Wolski, and Hildur Guðnadóttir were brought in to respectively direct, photograph, and compose, but you just can't beat the triple-punch of Villeneuve, Deakins, and Jóhannsson. I'd say there's no need for a comparison, but as I watched, it became abundantly clear that they were attempting to recreate what had come before them. However, those three individuals are masters of the craft and it's incredibly difficult to replicate their work so it comes off as cheap, hollow imitation. 

And that is precisely the origin of Day of the Soldado's identity crisis. It strives to be different from the original, yet tries to do things similarly and only come across as vastly inferior. Instead of being another tense, gritty crime thriller, Day of the Soldado wound up being no different from any other generic action-thriller you might find in Walmart's bargain bin. A large part of what made the original special was that it kept its protagonist and the audience in the dark. The tension was derived from a feeling of uncertainty, but almost everything in Day of the Soldado is simple and straightforward. I didn't necessarily require it to be incredibly complex to enjoy it, but it never felt like it was building towards anything and is nowhere near as effective at stirring the tension. Therefore, it was a very tedious two hours for me.

On a brighter note, the acting in Sicario: Day of the Soldado mostly rises above the film's other problems. At the forefront, Benicio Del Toro turns in another excellent performance as the film's titular silent hitman ("Sicario" means "hitman" for those confused) and once again plays Alejandro as the strong, silent type. He comes across as cold and calculating when things get tough, but watching him unshed some of the character's humanity in the film's quieter moments was absolutely incredible. Del Toro truly is one of the best working actors today and it really shines through this otherwise lackluster sequel. You also may or may not recognize Isabela Moner, but she broke onto the scene last year in Transformers: The Last Knight and is set to star in Dora and the Lost City of Gold. A lot is asked of Moner, but she delivers the necessary range as a revelation who joins the wave of young talent to emerge in recent years.

Meanwhile, Josh Brolin has had a huge year between his leading roles as Thanos and Cable in Avengers: Infinity War and Deadpool 2 respectively. While not quite as mainstream as his comic-book forays this year, Day of the Soldado brought what many are calling "The Summer of Brolin" to a close with his final role for the year of 2018. In regards to his performance, Brolin's macho physicality works in favor of the film's action and Brolin succeeds at being both charming and terrifying dependent on whatever the role requires. Although he's a bit underutilized in the second half, I was happy to see him bring his A-game. However, it was a character played by Elijah Rodriguez that I wasn't particularly onboard with. It's only Rodriguez's second feature role, and he's only a teenager, but I felt he lacked the necessary acting ability and the writing behind his character didn't do him any favors. About everyone else is essentially relegated to smaller supporting status including the likes of experienced actors Jeffrey Donovan, Matthew Modine, Catherine Keener, and Manuel Garcia who make the most of everything that's offered to them.

At the end of the day, Sicario: Day of the Soldado is just another subpar sequel which made me appreciate its predecessor even more. It ultimately couldn't decide what it wanted to be or why it needed to exist, and that aimless approach made my experience all the more infuriating. One could probably argue that Day of the Soldado is a competently made film in certain areas, and I'd certainly agree that there are specific bright spots throughout, but it was such a sludge to sit through that I have a hard time forgiving it for much of anything.

Film Assessment: C-