Sicario: Day of the Soldado

Josh Brolin is, for at least the second time in his life, "special" in a movie that is unflinching, but one that is neither better, nor as good as the previous. Sollima knows how to strike mafia poses, ruthless glances, and climactic action passages. He can create a solid atmosphere and stunning scenes of destruction (the convenience store bombing). But where the first film managed to tell a story with global subtext and issues, the second film tells a simple personal story of individuals, where the global scope serves only as a kind of framing device – present in the image, but quite uninvolved and self-serving. The character of Benicio Del Toro is underused and even less exploited, but the fans of Matt Graver will be in for a treat. Brolin excels especially towards the end, and not just because cinematographer Wolski impressively allows him to. He says a lot with his eyes, and even more with his gestures. Things are set up for another sequel, and it will probably turn out well, but the first one is a film going in a completely different direction than this sequel. (29/06/2018)

Bigger, but not heavier. Sheridan repeats his interest in macho characters a lot, as if he is able to garner less and less from the dark environment of contemporary America. He focuses only on the depressing scenes this time, which do not form as much of a devastating and mysterious whole. But the craft of Soldado is very good, making it a thriller with tempo and atmosphere. Even in the strongest moments, however, it still looks more like a successful imitation of a film that managed to make the audience vibrate with tension below the surface. A lot of Soldado happens on the surface, but that doesn't take the wind out of Sicaro's sails. Benicio Del Toro's laser vision and lawless landscape are still here. (01/07/2018)

Josh Brolin and his hitman Benicio Del Toro set out to rid Mexico of the drug cartels, but the mission gets a little out of hand and the consequences can be very painful... Sicario 2 is a good slow-burn thriller, but in all respects it loses a little to the first. It's still a proper manly film, though, and a very tough one at that. It's enough for a good thriller, but don't expect an exceptional film this time. (26/07/2018)

The admirable intentions are unfortunately overshadowed by the routine of the execution and the script (especially in relation to the expectations). The story offers enough action in the space of two hours, confronts its protagonists in an interesting way, and ends in a Hollywoodesque and daring fashion, but I still wasn’t satisfied. The characters remain woefully underdeveloped and superficial, and the plot doesn't escalate as a self-contained complex work, but rather as an introductory episode of something much larger – something I'm still willing to forgive in the future, if a third part is made that will close and complete everything. What I’m not forgiving, however, is the lacklustre staging and the clumsy development of the story, which consists of a series of stacked plans and missions whose (non-)fulfilment only creates the backdrop for an interesting and dramatic, but unsatisfyingly ramified conflict between morality and pragmatism in a world without rules. Once again Brolin and Benicio's acting is top-notch and it’s their characters that make me look forward to the likely conclusion, but I'm hoping for a much more personal and thoughtful approach, this deep-faced yet emotionally cold action flick won't leave a great impression... 60% (17/09/2018)

The first reviews I saw for this were so hesitant and even negative that they cooled my interest to the point where I waited for the reaction of my favorite reviewer, and only then did I dare to sit in the dimness of the movie theater. There's no point in lying to myself that the biggest reason for seeing the sequel was the success of Sicario, which became a small cinematic revelation for many film fans. Stefano Sollima may not achieve the quality of Denis Villeneuve, but he is still an above-average filmmaker who is also close to the genre. Taylor Sheridan may have had a weaker moment with this one, and in fact, I feel like it's the weakest script I've seen from his workshop so far, but even here I don't find any reason for fundamental criticism. What worked in the first film - namely the atmosphere, characters, music, and style - has basically been successfully transferred to the sequel. The creators imitate the style of Sicario, but they do not copy the content. It's not a major title of the year, but it is a decent summer genre film where I didn't feel any disappointment from the money invested to buy my ticket. Overall impression: 75%. (19/07/2018)