‘Sicario’ Review

photo for Sicario Beautifully photographed if ultimately empty thriller about an idealistic FBI agent (Emily Blunt), who is enlisted by an elite government task force official (Josh Brolin) to aid in the escalating war against drugs. Kate Macer is a tough, no-holds-barred agent in the Phoenix area whose team inadvertently comes across a Mexican drug cartel house of horrors while on a hostage-freeing mission. Persuaded by her superiors to join up with an interagency anti-drug task force, she discovers a world of violence and lawlessness (by both the good guys and bad guys) as the group, led by an enigmatic consultant with a questionable past (Benicio Del Toro), ventures into the lawless border area stretching between the U.S. and Mexico to take down a drug lord — forcing Kate to question everything that she believes about moral justice. The film holds out the dual carrots of fine acting (by the ensemble cast) and a ripped-from-the-headlines story about the corruption and brutality created by the drug trade and the concomitant war on drugs, but — like the director Denis Villeneuve’s “Prisoners” and “Enemy,” the film falters as the script dishes up unbelievable human responses to believable situations. On the plus side: The scenes of violence — and vistas of Southwestern landscapes — are gorgeously rendered by cinematographer Roger Deakins, all set to a suitably ominous soundtrack by Jóhann Jóhannsson. By the way, in Mexico, Sicario means hitman. Co-stars Jeffrey Donovan, Jon Bernthal and Victor Garber. Vitals: Director: Denis Villeneuve. Stars: Emily Blunt, Benicio Del Toro, Josh Brolin, Victor Garber. 2015, CC, MPAA rating: R, 121 min., Action Thriller, Box office gross: $46.241 million, Lionsgate. Extras: “Stepping Into Darkness: The Visual Design of Sicario” featurette, “Blunt, Brolin & Benicio: Portraying the Characters of Sicario” featurette, “Battle Zone: The Origins of Sicario” featurette, “A Pulse From the Desert: The Score of Sicario” featurette. 3 stars

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