SICARIO: DAY OF THE SALDADO (Malaysia, 28 Jun 2018)

Genre: Thriller

Running Length: 2:02

Cast: Benicio Del Toro, Josh Brolin, Isabela Moner, Jeffrey Donovan, Catherine Keener, Matthew Modine, Elijah Rodriguez, David Castañeda  

Director: Stefano Sollima 

Screenplay: Taylor Sheridan

What's this movie about?

The cartels are smuggling terrorists across the US border. FBI agent Matt Graver (Josh Brolin) is ordered to assemble his team, including Alejandro (Benicio Del Toro) to instigate a cartel war to disrupt such operations. Of course, nothing goes right and very quickly, sh*t hits the fan. 

(SICARIO: DAY OF THE SOLDADO stands on its own. One does not require to have seen the first film Sicario, but by understanding the background of Graver and Alejandro it would help viewers to have a better appreciation for the series) 

Highlights!

• Expanding the Sicario universe. Rather than the lazy rinse and repeat approach to sequels, I like what returning writer Taylor Sheridan did here - exposing a whole other facet of the drug and human trafficking war among the cartels that wasn’t explored in the first. The first film felt small while this one seems much bigger.  
• The realistic violence. Eventhough the trailer markets this film as an action film, the violence here are not the same as that genre. No heroic slo-mo gun play. The 'action sequences' are so well crafted it makes you feel that you're right there and the violence is usually quick, brutal and efficient.  
• Same look and feel. Eventhough the original super trio (Director Denis Villeneuve, cinematographer Roger Deakins and composer Jóhann Jóhannsson - RIP) were not involved in this sequel, it still looks and feels the same. This movie maintains a lurking sense of dread with some unbearable moments of intensity.
• The performances of Josh Brolin and Benicio Del Toro. Both Brolin's 'do whatever-it-takes' character and Del Toro's character are more fleshed out this round. There's one scene where Del Toro's character used sign language to reveal a little bit of his background - that quiet moment was heartbreaking. 

Lowlights

• The ending bit. I would have preferred a bleak ending where redemption is not possible for certain characters.  
• The casting of Catherine Keener and Matthew Modine. Their performance is serviceable here but distracting. It would have been better to cast lesser known actors.

In summary

Eventhough DAY OF THE SOLDADO didn't deliver a gut-punch ending as what Sicario did, it’s a worthy follow-up delivered from the perspective of the ugly world of international politics and male aggression. 

RATING: 8.5/10

STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI (2017)

Genre: Science Fiction/Adventure
Running Length: 2:32
Cast: Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, Kelly Marie Tran, Laura Dern, Benicio Del Toro
Director: Rian Johnson
Screenplay: Rian Johnson, based on characters created by George Lucas

I really struggled with this review. When the credits to STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI rolled, I spontaneously gave this a high rating but as the days went by, the more I thought about it, the ratings started to go downhill. Finally, after considering all angles and reading other perspectives online, I have settled to give this episode ie. Episode VIII, a shade below Episode VII, Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Let me get the negatives out of the way first. Firstly, I like my Star Wars to be serious. But there were just too many throw away gags in The Last Jedi which made some characters felt really off. Secondly, things are not always as it appears. Don't get me wrong, I do like my movies to be unpredictable but there were just way too many unexpected twists that disrupted the flow of the entire story. I felt the brief given to Rian Johnson (the writer and director) was to create a movie with many "everything you know is wrong and everything you care for is not important" moments.

Lastly, the other thing which really annoyed me was the shameless merchandise moments. There are two characters in there which I believe existed just to sell more toys to the masses.

As for the good stuff - this is a beautiful movie to watch. The red visuals are stunning. And there is a very exhilarating fight scene which I believe will be re-watched many times by viewers on YouTube in the future. In terms of character development, three people standout from the rest:
- the yin-yang relationship between Kylo Ren and Rey
- Poe Dameron's growth as a leader

The score was much better than The Force Awakens. One can distinctively hear popular themes from the original trilogy being mixed into this soundtrack.

If the objective of the filmmakers were to disrupt the entire Skywalker saga, then I think this episode did it. But what I would have preferred was for the filmmakers to pick a few twist, and super dramatize those moments instead, case in point: "Luke, I am your father".

RATING: 7/10

SICARIO (2015)

Genre: Action/Drama
Running Length: 2:01
Cast: Emily Blunt, Josh Brolin, Benicio Del Toro, Daniel Kaluuya, Jon Bernthal, Victor Garber
Director: Denis Villeneuve
Screenplay: Taylor Sheridan

SICARIO is an intense take on the drug cartel. It is gripping and tension-filled. The violence is shockingly realistic but not gratuitous. (In Spanish, "sicario" means "hitman")

This movie tells a story of an idealistic by-the-book FBI agent (Blunt) who is recruited by a shady government operative led by an equally shadowy character (Brolin). Their ambitious mission is to take down a drug lord in Mexico. Blunt's character is brought into the plan for reasons she's unclear of. The audience is kept in the dark too as the plot slowly unveils its grand plan leading to a violent and brutal conclusion.

From a technical standpoint, I'm always intrigued with movies which are able to drum up an atmosphere of dread from get go. In this case, it's because of the perfect synergy of Villeneuve's impeccable direction, tight editing, superb cinematography and the bass-heavy score. There is an action sequence 1/3 into the movie which was so intense the guy sitting next to me in the cinema hall pulled his legs towards his chest.

In terms of performance, as good as Blunt is, the show belongs to Del Toro. He crushes it as a middle-aged merciless gunman. He steals every scene he's in. The rest of the supporting cast is equally solid. 

Although it has the thrills of an action flick, the heart of this film is actually a drama which takes place in a world of grey, where our protagonist is faced with difficult decisions which would compromise her moral values. I was hoping it would focus more on the latter like what Villeneuve's did in his last film Prisoners, but somehow the end results didn't give me a satisfying emotional punch in the gut. Nevertheless, Sicario stands apart as one of the best action drama movies I've seen.

Rating: 8.5/10