‎Sicario (2015) directed by Denis Villeneuve • Reviews, film + cast • Letterboxd

Sicario

2015 Directed by Denis Villeneuve

The border is just another line to cross.

A young female FBI agent joins a secret CIA operation to take down a Mexican cartel boss, a job that ends up pushing her ethical and moral values to the limit.

Emily Blunt Benicio del Toro Josh Brolin Victor Garber Jon Bernthal Daniel Kaluuya Jeffrey Donovan Raoul Max Trujillo Julio Cedillo Hank Rogerson Bernardo P. Saracino Maximiliano Hernández Kevin Wiggins Edgar Arreola Kim Larrichio Jesus Nevarez-Castillo Dylan Kenin Sarah Minnich Matthew Page Lora Martinez-Cunningham John Burke John Trejo Vic Browder Eb Lottimer Marty Lindsey Alex Knight Rio Alexander Eric Steinig Matthew Tompkins Show All…

121 mins More details at IMDb TMDb Report this film

Popular reviews

Review by Mike D'Angelo ★★★★½ 35

This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

83/100

Second viewing, no change. Having now professionally reviewed this film four times (for The Dissolve from Cannes, and then for the A.V. Club, the Nashville Scene, and the Las Vegas Weekly), I thought I had nothing left to say, especially since I made a point of addressing the most common criticisms. But since a bunch of folks are praising Adam Nayman's takedown for Reverse Shot, let me quickly address a few of his points.

“I have to know,” Kate tells her pal Reggie (Daniel Kaluuya), but there’s little urgency in the role or the performance—and almost none of the obsessive fervor that bled through Jessica Chastain’s porcelain features in Zero Dark Thirty.

A couple more paragraphs about Zero Dark…
Review by SilentDawn ★★★★★ 25

91/100

Sicario, not unlike its translation into "hitman", revolves around the act of stealth and the aura of tension it creates. Denis Villeneuve, teaming up again with master DP Roger Deakins, conjures up images of supreme darkness, but the true accomplishment comes not from horror within the now but from the foreboding blare of escalating dread.

It's nothing less than a sublime concoction, but one that decays as soon as familiarity is presented. With Deakins' soul-searing cinematography, Johann Johannsson's heart-exploding score, and Villeneuve's tracking mindset of "firecracker" pops and splattering eruption; Sicario is an experience that will enthrall any fan of artfully presented gloom, but its subtext and interconnected view of political systems will be even harder to shake.

Emily…
Review by Matt Singer ★★★★ 6

Remember the scene in BOOGIE NIGHTS where Alfred Molina is randomly tossing firecrackers at Mark Wahlberg and John C. Reilly? SICARIO is like that scene for two straight hours with no “Sister Christian.” It is intense.

TIFF '15 Review #2: screencrush.com/sicario-review-tiff/
Review by Evan ★★★★½ 4

Sicario might mean Hitman in Mexico. But in my world, Sicario means intense as fucking shit!

Also, that night scene is the best video game movie we will ever get.
Review by gabriel guimarães ★★★★★

The best episode of Narcos I have ever seen.
Review by bree1981 ★★★★★ 8

This was absolutely epic, a lot better than I was expecting it to be, I was all set to give it 4 and a half stars then I thought, what could it have actually done any better? The answer I came to was nothing, from the first scene to the last this is a white knuckle ride full of tension and suspense, there were a few scenes where I was actually holding my breath.
Emily Blunt stars as Kate Macer, the leader of a FBI team kicking down doors in Phoenix, Arizona fighting a loosing battle against the ever expanding Mexican drug cartel's when she is manipulated into volunteering for a shadowy government task force lead by Josh Brolin's cocksure…

Recent reviews

Review by Karen Wan ★★★

Not exactly my type of movie from the getgo but i can see why it's a favorite among fans.
Review by Luis Curiel Marroquin ★★★★★

The film is strongest when it looks at the way the war on drugs has affected different people however it’s the revenge story driven through Benicio Del Toro’s character that is the least interesting unless you look at the consequences that killing the head of a cartel causes. The score and cinematography are incredible and compliment the morally grey area that all our characters live in. i’m sewing Day of the Soldado tonight so I’m hoping it’s a worthy seque
Review by RobertoDuran ★★★★

Thriller Thursdays #2

Watched this on 4K blu-ray. Sharp image!

I guess I'm working backwards through Villenueve's filmography (his first movie I watched was Blade Runner: 2049 and second film was Arrival). He's definitely a great director, for visuals and storytelling. His movies just breeze by for me. And helping him out in visuals is Roger Deakins, the GOAT DP. Sicario is a great tense thriller that's almost in the amazing film territory for me.
Review by yousra

I'm a dumbass so I didn't understand most of this movie BUTT Emily Blunt was amazing, the score was nice and it had some great shots
I should rewatch it again without any distractions though
Review by Ezra Cubero ★★★★

My least favorite Villeneuve film from his 2013-2017 run, but still an expertly crafted thriller. Curious to see how the sequel does without him, Deakins, Blunt, and Johannsson.
Review by JUMPCUT ONLINE

"If the acting displays were touching perfect, the direction by Villeneuve grabs perfect by the throat and makes it beg for mercy. I absolutely loved ‘Prisoners’, whilst I was frustrated by ‘Enemy’, but I think ‘Sicario’ is Villeneuve’s best work."

READ OUR FULL REVIEW HERE
Review by Paul Davey ★★★★★

This is a pretty special movie.
Review by Josh Baker ★★★★★

holy crap, was Sicario amazing. the performances by Emily Blunt, Josh Brolin and Denicio Del Toro are absolutely amazing in this movie, and the plot is very well driven and very well scripted by Taylor Sheridan with Denis Villenueve backing up as director. everything from this movie to its amazing cinematography to its acting to its atmosphere to pretty much everything about in general was absolutey great to watch. the characters in this film were well written, especially the 3 leads. there was this one great scene with Benicio i found so incredibly suspenseful, and i like how the characters either come off as smart or unpredictable in this film. and i love how very original this film feels in…
Review by Ashley ★★★

I don't understand why everyone was so crazy about this movie. It.........wasn't that good.

I feel like the whole point of this movie was "look at how mysterious Benicio del Toro can be for 2 hours". Which is fine, there's just no need to have a female protagonist who has zero effect on anything that happens in the end.