Steven Soderbergh’s Traffic offered a patchwork overview of the war on drugs as it existed at the turn of the current century, and now Denis Villeneuve’s Sicario (which roughly translated means "hitman") shows us with frightening reality the state of affairs some fifteen years later. In short, things have gotten a lot worse, and the director brings the horrific violence and cruel indifference to human existence vividly to life in this thoughtfully intense thriller. With a sterling cast (many famous faces are only around for a scene or two) and cinematic techniques that put us in the middle of the ferocity, Sicario is one of those movies that haunts after a first viewing and demands a revisit sooner rather than later.
Studio: Lionsgate
Distributed By: N/A
Video Resolution and Encode: 1080P/AVC
Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
Audio: English 2.0 DD, English Dolby Atmos, Spanish 5.1 DD
Subtitles: English, English SDH, Spanish
Rating: R
Run Time: 2 Hr. 1 Min.
Package Includes: Blu-ray, DVD, Digital Copy, UltraViolet
keep case in a slipcoverDisc Type: BD50 (dual layer)
Region: A
Release Date: 01/05/2016
MSRP: $39.99
The Production Rating: 4.5/5
After making a devastating discovery in a drug stash house on the American side of the US/Mexico border, FBI agent Kate Macer (Emily Blunt) is eager to play a more important role in nipping the drug cartels in the bud rather than assisting in clean-up operations after many have died. She is invited to join a quasi-military operation led by Matt Graver (Josh Brolin) intending to find drug kingpin Manuel Diaz (Bernardo Saracino) that will pull of series of drug intervention tweaks in both Juarez and Tucson that will hopefully bring Diaz out of hiding. Along for the ride is the enigmatic Alejandro (Benicio Del Toro) who has insider knowledge about the cartels from previous experiences with them. He knows, for example, that Diaz is actually only second-in-command, and he tasks himself to gain intel on the location of the real Mr. Big. But the operations the team is attempting are not only dangerous but skirt legal channels rather flagrantly, something the by-the-book Kate is finding increasingly hard to justify.
Screenwriter Taylor Sheridan uses the character of Kate Macer as the audience surrogate, green to this kind of undercover operation south of the border and never quite sure (until it’s revealed more than halfway through the movie) of the identities of her confederates or the prime objective of this operation. All of the brilliant and quite varied action set pieces are seen through her eyes from the opening raid on the drug house (with a couple of shocking developments) to a quick trip through Juarez streets (where director Denis Villeneuve establishes an overwhelming sense of roughness, danger, and unease), a sensational confrontation at a traffic-jammed border crossing, and a pursuit into Merico through underground tunnels (shot eerily and with creeping intensity with night vision and infrared lenses). Director Villeneuve uses violence purposefully but without reveling in the gore and trauma, and in one of the most intense confrontations in the movie, an attack on Kate that she realizes is about to happen about two seconds too late, the camera stays tight on the combatants until the surprising denouement. Elsewhere, Villeneuve uses aerial photography not only to set the scene but also to emphasize the vastness of the areas under siege and the relative smallness of the forces trying to combat the problems.
Unlike Jessica Chastain in Zero Dark Thirty, Emily Blunt seems a bit physically underpowered to really ring completely true in the role. She registers concern and apprehension beautifully, and she does a fine job hiding her natural accent, but an actress with a little more physical presence and dynamism might have sold the part a little more forcefully. Benicio Del Toro interestingly takes over the picture in the final third of the movie, but he’s mesmerizing throughout being a man of few words but capable of producing powerful emotions with just his face and body. Josh Brolin has his laid-back persona down pat and uses it well in the movie once revelations come to the fore. Daniel Kaluuya plays Kate’s FBI partner Reggie Wayne, just as in the dark as she but warier than she about their involvement in this shady-seeming operation. Jon Bernthal as a friend of Reggie’s who makes a play for Kate also offers interesting layers to his performance. On the cartel side, screenwriter Taylor Sheridan focuses on crooked state policeman Silvio played simply but movingly by Maximiliano Hernandez showing us how an ordinary Mexican family is touched by the cartel in ways that might not be immediately noticeable but winding up being tragic nevertheless. In small but very effective parts, Victor Garber, Jeffrey Donovan, and Julio Cesar Cedillo (as the real kingpin of the cartel) all offer excellent performances.
Video Rating: 5/5 3D Rating: NA
The film’s 2.40:1 original theatrical aspect ratio is faithfully reproduced in this 1080p transfer using the AVC codec. Black levels are the most striking aspect of the transfer, some scenes taking place with only slivers of light, and yet Roger Deakins Oscar-nominated cinematography handles the light, dark, and shadows beautifully. Sharpness is outstanding, and color is true to the terrain: sometimes a bit bleached out in strong sunlight and other times with accurate hues and realistic skin tones. Contrast remains consistent throughout the presentation. Subtitles used when Spanish is spoken are always easy to read. The movie has been divided into 16 chapters.
Audio Rating: 5/5
The Dolby Atmos sound mix (decoded as Dolby TrueHD 7.1 on my non-Atmos receiver) is quite revelatory with the sound mixers and editor (Oscar-nominated) achieving enormous heft to the engines of trucks and airplanes and in explosions and crashes which carry real weight in your listening environment. Johann Johannsson’s rumbling, pulsating score (Oscar-nominated) is quite unique and gains added emphasis with its placement through the fronts and rears of the soundfield. Dialogue has been well recorded and has been placed in the center channel.
Dolby Atmos Update: I listened to Sicario on a 7.2.4 system (4 ceiling speakers). In addition to the surround channels, the pulsating score Matt mentioned could often be found overhead along with explosions, aircraft and other localized overhead effects. Atmos was used very effectively in the tunnel raid scene, giving me a good startle at one point. A very nice mix. -- Adam Gregorich
Special Features Rating: 3.5/5
Stepping into Darkness (16:46, HD): director Denis Villeneuve, screenwriter Taylor Sheridan, producers Edward L. McDonnell, Molly Smith, and Trent Luckinbill, director of photography Roger Deakins, production designer Patrice Vermetter, set decorator Jan Pascale, and actor Daniel Kaluuya talk about the necessity for reality in the filmmaking, all the way from the storyboards to the actual filming in New Mexico and Mexico City (which doubled for Juarez).
Blunt, Brolin, & Benicio (14:35, HD): the three above-the-title actors discuss their characters and the parts they play in the story with additional comments about their roles provided by director Denis Villeneuve, writer Taylor Sheridan, cinematographer Roger Deakins, and producers Basil Iwanyk, Molly Smith, and Trent Luckinbill.
A Pulse from the Desert (6:19, HD): composer Johann Johannsson discusses his choices for the score for the film with director Denis Villeneuve explaining why he thinks the composer’s score is so effective for the piece.
Battle Zone (13:45, HD): writer Taylor Sheridan discusses the genesis for his script in the sheer quantities of murders committed each year in cartel operations and a particularly terrible instance of women disappearing without a trace. A number of border-affiliated journalists and correspondents also comment on the terrible crimes and dangerous situations going on around the border.
Promo Trailers (HD): The Last Witch Hunter, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part II, Heist, Mississippi Grind, The Hurt Locker.
DVD/Digital Copy/Ultraviolet: disc and code sheet enclosed in the case.
Overall Rating: 4.5/5
Sicario is an eye-opening, intelligent thriller involving the dangerous and mortifying drug business operating with huge profits delivered through great expense of human life on both sides of the Mexico/U.S. border. The Blu-ray offers outstanding picture and completely enveloping sound to draw one into the terrors of the story and comes highly recommended.
Reviewed By: Matt Hough
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