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CJohn

Sicario (2015)

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Damn, that was fantastic. Really tense and gripping stuff. #3 of year for me behind Fury Road and Ex Machina.

Bitchy/pissed-off Blunt was cool but a tiny bit too much audience surrogate, Del Toro was absolute standout, Brolin was absolutely awesome and hilarious. Deakins and Johannsson's work really contributed to how tense this was - loved how they did the start of the tunnel sequence especially, flipping through different styles and POV shots.

On Del Toro - he basically steals the film from Blunt once his true motivations/origins are revealed, and it's chilling. True standout of the film.

9/10

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It's a nail-biter, and a pretty good one too. Deakins and Villeneuve bring their A-game and the cast is great. The only (minor) issue is that Blunt's character basically acts like a cliched angry police captain most of the time, without the actual power of the police captain. I get why she was written like that, it just annoyed me a bit.

 

8/10 (which is exactly equal to Villeneuve's other films)

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The cast was great – Del Toro stole though show although Brolin was fantastic as well. I love Emily Blunt and she was also excellent, but like 'antovik' said – her place as the audience surrogate was a little pronounced. Deakins work was truly incredible - the scene with the line of SUVs making their way through Juarez is one of the best sequences I have seen in recent times. Those ariel views were just incredible. I wasn't too impressed with the score - I thought it relied a bit too much on sound design. Overall this was an excellent film. The specific events could have been a bit more compelling but the message of the film was spot-on and it was very subtle/nuanced with its themes. A-

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I echo the previous comments. Very tense, gripping drama and the cinematography was great. However, Blunt was fine in her performance but the character was just to much of an audience surrogate. The final scene was a bit off as well. I understand the justification of why they had her tag along but the paperwork scene stretched credulity a bit to much.

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Can't believe I forgot to review this. God, I loved this movie. My favorite of the year so far. Intense, brutal, terrifying, and visceral. Chris Ryan of Grantland is right- it feels like the Apocalypse Now of the drug war. A hypnotic movie that delves deeper into unspeakable horror and darkness than most movies dare to do. Fascinating, complex politics, too. Feels like No Country meets Platoon meets Traffic meets Prisoners. It's just fucking aces. So much to pull apart here. Deakins and Johannasson's work is just tremendous in adding to the mood and tone of this piece. And dat cast.....jeez. Every player in this matters, and nails it. Blunt and Brolin have never been better. And Del Toro.....one of the most memorable performances and characters of modern times. He's just a presence. Like an unstoppable, otherworldly force taking human form. He's Anton Chigurh in tailored suits. God, it's tremendous.

 

See this fucking movie. 

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B+

 

It's held back by an underwritten main character and a wrap-up that is very very thin (the apartment finale was excellently done, but it seemed like there needed to be some sort of wrap up with Brolin or her FBI partner and/or Garber's character).

 

Del Toro is brilliant though.

Edited by 4815162342
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Pretty bad movie. Brolin and Del Toro are gods, and kudos to Villineuve for letting them chew scenery, otherwise this is a simple, vaguely irresponsible depiction of a nuanced issue that allowed for nothing interesting plot or character wise. Kept waiting for it to shift gears and never did. Would've prefered a film about the Mexican cop or something anthology based.

Blunt is a wonderful actor but she is clobbered in this movie. Hard to stomach a woman at the center who listens to sexist crap all day and simutaneously remains passive for her whole story.

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Pretty bad movie. Brolin and Del Toro are gods, and kudos to Villineuve for letting them chew scenery, otherwise this is a simple, vaguely irresponsible depiction of a nuanced issue that allowed for nothing interesting plot or character wise. Kept waiting for it to shift gears and never did. Would've prefered a film about the Mexican cop or something anthology based.

Blunt is a wonderful actor but she is clobbered in this movie. Hard to stomach a woman at the center who listens to sexist crap all day and simutaneously remains passive for her whole story.

See, I didn't read it that way. I read it that the way her and her African-American partner were consistently shut down, ostracisized, and marginalized by a group of hard-ass Delta Force white guys as a commentary on the way these marginalized groups are constantly shuffled to the side in a law enforcement issue that hugely affects them. To me, it tried to paint a picture of the way the hedgemonic force irresponsibilly abusing their power in a way that keeps minority groups from advancing. It's a harsh view and a sad view, but a sad view that probably fits with the reality of these structures. I don't think a Zero Dark monologue moment would have worked here. This took a much more cynical view meant to emphasize the overbearing corrupt nature of these agencies. I read it very much like that movie A Most Wanted Man from last year, thematically- no matter how good people try to be, no matter how hard they fight for the light, the overwhelming, disgusting, vile power of these shady systems overcomes that good instinct in the end.

 

But I think it's great we disagree, it makes it more interesting. Fascinating to see how two relatively like minded people can have such strongly different readings. I thought it was a brilliantly cynical and disgustingly terrifying descent into total darkness. You read it as an obtuse, boring, sterile reading of the issue. And neither of us is wrong! That's whats cool about movies. 

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I probably would've been down for Blunt and her partner being constantly marginalized if it was the subtext and not the text of the film, as it shoves that logic down your throat for two hours. Cartel Land this year alone shows how systemic, complex, not black and white at all this issue is. I don't think Sicario in retrospect has anything new or exciting or nuanced to say at all.

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Felt like it was well-made, but lacking something to make it truly great. I don't know what could make it better. Brolin, Blunt, and the actor who played her partner were all pretty good, and Del Toro lived up to expectations and stole the show. The cinematography was astounding in every way. A lot of well directed sequences that had me on the edge of my seat, but there were also a lot of stuff that just bored me. I don't know, I was hoping for something a bit more, but don't get me wrong, I quite liked it. A-

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I probably would've been down for Blunt and her partner being constantly marginalized if it was the subtext and not the text of the film, as it shoves that logic down your throat for two hours. Cartel Land this year alone shows how systemic, complex, not black and white at all this issue is. I don't think Sicario in retrospect has anything new or exciting or nuanced to say at all.

 

4 months from now, when this movie is out, I'm gonna gif 'Time to Meet God' and post this as a proper response.

 

No but for real, I'm a little surprised you didn't enjoy it because it seems kinda up your alley.

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This may as well have been titled "No Country for Young Women", but I still found it a very creepy and intense experience. Big props to the technical contributions of Deakins' cinematography and Johannsson's pounding cues. And I found Del Toro an engaging presence for once

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