Sicario: Day of the Soldado, a Convoluted Mess

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Sicario 2: Day of the Soldado
Director: Stefino Sollima
Cast: Josh Brolin, Benecio Del Toro, Isabela Moner, Elijah Rodriguez, Catherine Keener
Genre: Crime Thriller/ Action
Rating: 2.5/5
                                                                                           
Sicario: Day of the Soldado, the follow-up to the 2015’s break out hit Sicario, is a sorry affair. The sequel fails to justify its existence and yet, sets up for the third instalment. In doing so, it wastes a lot of valuable screen time and story that could actually have benefitted the film at hand. In thinking of what’s to come, the filmmakers forget what is actually at hand.

Day of the Soldado begins with the US border patrol coming across an Islamic terrorist in one of their patrols. Around the same time, a store in Kansas is subjected to a terror attack. After the revelation that the Mexican cartels were now smuggling the terrorists too, the US government assigns CIA agent Matt Graver (Josh Brolin) to handle the situation. Graver then “calls on a mysterious operative Alejandro Gillick (Benecio Del Toro)” to help him start a cartel war. They then attack the Mexican cartels posing as rival groups. They also kidnap Isabela Reyes (Isebela Moner) the daughter of Carlos Reyes who is the leader of one of the cartels. With this, they hope to start a full-fledged cartel war.

After the kidnapping, however, the plot gets convoluted. It is unclear who is doing what and why. Making sense of who is in which side and why they are doing what they are doing becomes a challenge. The idea of cartel war the agents were supposedly brewing is completely forgotten. In addition to this messy primary plot, Day of the Soldado also follows a young Miguel Hernandez (Elijah Rodriguez) and gives him way more screen time than was necessary. From a later revelation, which is as unclear and unconvincing as it gets, we find out that it was, in fact, a set up to the third instalment. The Miguel Hernandez character could have been handled in a much better although he is not at all imperative to the primary plot.
Now coming to the action and thrill, the blood and gore, Day of the Soldado provides plenty of it. The scenes are shocking and brutal. The action sequences well-made and for a lover of action thrillers, this may just be enough to justify the mess that is its plot. However, if you, as a filmgoer, expect the thrillers to thrill you with more than just action sequences and look for a compelling story like the original, you will be left wanting for more. This sequel is nowhere near the original and it is unclear as to why this movie even exists.

All in all, you might end up enjoying Day of Soldado, if you give into its pace and action. However, if you want to enjoy the movie in totality, I would suggest you to sit this one out and wait for something else.


Sicario: Day of the Soldado Trailer

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