375. Sicario 2 - Soldado; movie review

SICARIO 2 - SOLDADO
Cert 15

122 mins
BBFC advice: Contains strong bloody violence, language

In 2015, I wrote that the original Sicario was "high on action but not without intelligence."
Disappointly, by writing Emily Blunt's character out of the follow-up, brains have been replaced by testosterone.
Indeed, much of the impact of the first Sicario was the devastating emotional impact violence had on Blunt's character.
Without her, Sicario 2 loses that element and becomes an orgy of mindless killings.
It falls horribly flat, despite a cast which includes Josh Brolin, Benicio Del Toro and Catherine Keener.

The plot of Stefano Sollima's film is focused on the fall-out of a suicide bombing at a supermarket in Kansas, after which it transpires that the Mexican drug cartels are filtering terrorists through the border.
Consequently, Brolin's federal agent, Matt Graver, teams up again with Del Toro's equally ruthless undercover operative, Alejandro Gillick to stop the criminal trade.
The duo are given carte blanche and set about causing mayhem among the cartels and killing anyone who gets in their way.
That applies to a heck of a lot of people - be they villains, relatives of villains, neighbours of villains or even police officers.
Yep, who cares what the body count is as long as the mission is accomplished.
Along the route, they kidnap a cartel leader's daughter (Isabela Moner) and much of Sicario 2 hangs around her fete.
But why should Graver and Gillick care? They certainly don't seem to give a fig about anyone else who might be on the end of a bullet.
Sicario 2 is a big disappointment. Its makers have forgotten what made the first one stand out and have simply gone for an 'all guns blazing' approach.
I cannot deny that this will satisfy less discerning cinema-goers but it didn't do it for either Mrs W nor me.
It is a waste of some great acting talent.

Reasons to watch: For those into a diet of machine-gun violence
Reasons to avoid: Its intelligence was lost when Emily Blunt was not rehired

Laughs: None
Jumps: None
Vomit; None
Nudity: None
Overall rating: 4.5/10

Director quote - Stefano Sollima: "I feel that the issues, the topics we explore in this movie are a bit different on the first one. Because the first one was more on drugs and this one, it's more on immigration. And then I feel that immigration now is an issue all over the world."

The big question - Why did they think brawn was more important than brains?

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