‘Blu-ray or Bust’ - SICARIO: DAY OF THE SOLDADO

‘Blu-ray or Bust’

SICARIO: DAY OF THE SOLDADO (2018, R, 122 minutes, BLACK LABEL MEDIA/COLUMBIA PICTURES)

Ah, what a bleak, monotone world in which we live.  At least, that seems to be the message the makers of the latest entry in the SICARIO saga want you to believe.

Unlike its Oscar nominated predecessor, DAY OF THE SOLDADO, while effective, does not have any of those “holy ass-monkeys!” moments.  Nothing that really makes you sit up straight and pay closer attention than you already were.  There are times when the film works, but it does so mostly due to its cast, and not from the Taylor Sheridan (SICARIO, WIND RIVER) written script.  Which is kind of surprising, as he wrote the first in a lean, concise manner.  This time around, the film nearly gets lost in its own world.

Returning to their “they might be the good guys but you aren’t supposed to like them” roles are Josh Brolin, as shady contractor Matt Graver, and Benicio Del Toro as the soft spoken and eerily precise assassin Alejandro.  The story focuses on them trying to “extract” (see: straight-up kidnap) the daughter of a Mexican cartel leader in order to start a war amongst the different factions.  Only after they bring her to U.S. soil, they then take her back to Mexico, and then try to get her back across the border.  The reasoning behind this human ping-pong match isn’t even rightly sorted.  No, I don’t need things spelled out for me.  But…okay, maybe this time I kinda did.  (Bear with me, I’m trying to sort this all out without divulging any spoilers)

Part of the problem is that this film wants to be as smart as the first one was, but it isn’t.  There is no Emily Blunt, whose naïve eyes we were so lucky to have witnessed the first film through, to help sort everything out and to be the film’s conscience.  Despite a change in directors, the tone remains the same, but you get an overwhelming feeling of linear storytelling.  A reason for this is that cinematographer Roger Deakins has been replaced by Dariusz Wolski, who has done some marvelous work for Ridley Scott in the past.  He does a fine job here, but it doesn’t add the same thrill that Deakins’ roving eyes did the first time around.  There are some sweeping views of the desert, and some nice shots of the Rio Grande at night.  But it all just feels so…flat.

And the story is written in such a way that, ultimately, the entire film feels like a setup for a third.  Maybe even a series.  Hell, as long as our own government is telling us how bad our neighbors to the south really are, this could become the new trend!  Forget ISIS, forget the evil Taliban—let’s all hate the Mexican cartels!  That should be fun for a while—at least until we can find a reason to run black ops missions into Canada.

Seriously—this is not a terrible film.  It just doesn’t hit on the levels it wants so badly to, partly due to the predictable outcomes, partly due to what feels like a lazy story.  The cast is the only reason this one is getting north of a “D” rating from me.  Speaking of which, the girl being shipped back and forth like my daughter’s broken iPhone is played by Isabela Moner, a staple for Nickelodeon Studios for the last few years.  She has the pleasure of being the only character in SOLDADO that you eventually wind up liking.  Almost every character in the film has a moment of redemption, but it is her tenacity, fear, and grief which drives the plot, and keeps the film from sinking under the heavy handed storytelling.

There are three featurettes included in the special features, the best of which shows how director Stefano Sollima pulled off the most thrilling moment of the film (and it happens roughly halfway through).  That moment involves an ambush on a dirt road, shown from the point of view of the actors—and just like that scene is the highlight of the film, it is also the highlight of the special features.

If you are going to purchase this, it may as well be on Blu-ray.  Explosions aren’t as pretty in the standard format, and the resolution here is especially effective; sometimes, the most color you are going to see in this picture are things blowing up or people losing blood.  The terribly serious score by Hildur Guðnadóttir (ARRIVAL, THE REVENANT) will also give your subwoofer a workout.

While a third SICARIO film has yet to be announced, this one will have made enough after-video sales to justify the studio considering it.  But it isn’t necessary.  Hell, even this sequel wasn’t necessary.  It is a passable two hours, but just barely.  And when you are following up a film as powerful and as thrilling as the first one was, that, in my opinion, isn’t enough to get excited about.

           

Film Grade: C

Special Features: B-

Blu-ray Necessary: Recommended

-- T.S. Kummelman