Victoria Jelinek

When FBI specialist Kate Macer (Emily Blunt) starts working with two dodgy defence advisors, she finds herself on the ethically blurred front of America’s War on Drugs.

I was so excited to see Sicario because publications whose opinions I respect hailed it one of “the best” movies of the year, and a “must see” film. Additionally, the cast, namely Benecio del Toro and Josh Brolin, are excellent actors I admire immeasurably. While I’d concede that my high expectations played some part in the disappointment I felt when I did see the film, Sicario goes on my list of movies (which are only a handful out of hundreds viewed) worth walking out on. And I would have, too, had my friend not refused to leave due to the expense of our cinema tickets. The only redemptive element in my opinion was the cinematography, but coupled with the cliché-ridden script, it becomes an accomplice in the hackneyed story and its characterisations.

Josh Brolin is meant to be a government operative whose cynical experience and daring makes him a cowboy who ‘always bags his man’. This is conveyed in a flat-footed manner, with farcical direction and no dialogue to support the idea that he’s actually a shrewd hunter. Benecio del Toro plays a shadowy character that we’re not sure is on the ‘good side’ or the ‘bad side,’ but it doesn’t matter, because, once again, his lines are so vapid and the plot is so thin that you don’t really care. And Emily Blunt. Good grief. She’s meant to be a young, up-and-coming ‘shit-hot’ FBI agent, but there is absolutely nothing in terms of dialogue, action, or her acting that supports the idea that she’s astute, capable, and one you’d want to be ‘in the foxhole with’ under fire. Instead, she comes across as a self-righteous blowhard, and, moreover, a hindrance to any real action that does take place in the film.

I’m perplexed as to how this movie is such a hit with critics…In this viewer’s opinion, if your keen to see it ‘cause of the reviews you’d thus far read, the tagline, concept, or the cast, then I’d recommend waiting till it’s on DVD.