The first “Sicario” (2015) is a work of art. It has mood, tension, amazing cinematography and a great story. Needless to say, I was excited to see the sequel. “Sicario: Day of the Soldado” is a completely different, and unnecessary, movie. The only thing that even makes this related to the original “Sicario” is that it uses two of the same characters. The feel, pacing, story … basically everything … is different here, unfortunately.
This time around, the special ops group led by Josh Brolin’s character, Matt Graver, is tasked with starting a war between rival groups in Mexico to … stop terrorism? Honestly, it isn’t clear to me why it is happening. He then enlists Alejandro (Benicio Del Toro) to help, one thing leads to another and we somehow end up in a “Logan”-esqe story as Alejandro decides to protect a young girl. Cue some explosions, gun fights and government backstabbing, and that’s that.
The film is not bad; it’s a good action thriller. It is just a severe letdown from the first.