Immigration has truly become a hotbed issue, regardless of your political views. For those in the United States, we speak often about the Latin American countries and the stories of corrupt officials, smugglers of both illegal substances and people, and the entities that control all three of those things. This issue also hits close to me given that I am married to a lady working on her own citizenship, and it has given me a new perspective where I wonder if I have taken my own citizenship for granted. This is looked at in the sequel to the sleeper hit “Sicario” with “Sicario: Day of the Soldado”.
Directed by Stefano Sollima in his third feature film, this film returns both Benecio Del Toro and Josh Brolin as Brolin’s government contractor Matt Graver seeks out Del Toro’s Alejandro to help him with an operation that gives Alejandro the opportunity to take revenge on the cartel leader who put the hit out on his family in the first film. By kidnapping the cartel leader’s daughter (Isabela Moner) and staging it to look like it was done by a rival cartel, they end up getting more than they bargained for on both sides of the border.
This film mostly takes place around the US/Mexico border and shows its locations well, including the poverty and extreme conditions that the characters find themselves in. When it comes to the cast, Matthew Modine and Catherine Keener also make appearances, complimenting the leads (who do not disappoint). My shout out here does to Moner, who displays her character’s spunk and maturity very well, especially in the scenes where she was in dangerous situations.
At about two hours, this is paced VERY well, flying by with the speed of a bullet (pun intended), keeping me interested all the way through. Using gritty realism and a lot of violence (just like the first one) combined with a plot that keeps it simple while putting in some nice twists, it truly exceeded my expectations, so I will give “Sicario: Day of the Soldado” my coveted full price at a theater recommendation.