Sicaro: Day of the Soldado
Before he became the prestige resurrector of classic science fiction films, Denis Villeneuve directed a number of great thrillers, the best of which was the 2015 movie Sicario, about an FBI agent (played by Emily Blunt) who gets wrapped up in an investigation involving the cartels and is whisked across the border to explore the dark, violent world of the Mexican drug war. The film is a blend of political thriller, character study, and action film, and it works really beautifully. Unfortunately, its sequel, Day of the Soldado, takes the same premise and basically makes a parody of the original. Is the film still entertaining? Yes. Is it dumber? Also yes. Did the film’s screenwriter, Taylor Sheridan, phone in the story for a fat paycheck? I’m not going to accuse him of anything but…uh…you can watch the movie and decide for yourself. Or don’t.
