Sicario 2: Day of the Soldado (dir. Stefano Sollima)

Tell someone you're going to do a sequel to their favourite movie of 2015, this time without the three main components which made the original such a hit, and you're likely to see them scowl in unapologetic fashion. For me, this is the case when referring to "Sicario 2: Day of the Soldado", which is a semi-sequel come spin-off to the 2015 dark and brooding drug-smuggling masterpiece, "Sicario". But what's different this time around?

Well, for one - director Denis Villeneuve - who passed on helming this follow up for greener pastures on "Blade Runner 2049" - has been replaced this time around by Stefano Sollima ("Gomorrah", "Suburra"). Add to that the missing charisma of leading star Emily Blunt, with her sub-plot becoming the antithesis to the ongoing machismo of the previous encounter seemingly not warranting further exploration, and indeed the cinematic majesty of cinematographer Roger Deakins - all the signs point towards this politically charged thriller falling flat on it's face.

On the contrary. Here's the thing. Time is a funny thing, and in a era of liberal backlash against everything our conservative government dwells on in relation to immigration policies, it couldn't be more prevalent. Despite this sequel never wholly justifying it's existence merely than taking a satirical look at US/Mexican relations in 21st century Trump's America, this right-wing cautionary tale is enthralling and inherently entertaining from start to finish.

The wall; migrant families; US/Mexico border. If you've been awake within the last four months and understand how to use modern technology, it's likely you've heard these phrases in some fashion or another. And when a particular brand of "news" programme aren't making ratings ploys by brandishing these societal hot-potatoes, audiences are left to decipher themselves for the correct way to keep their homeland safe. Call it what you want, yet "Siciario 2: Day of Soldado" utilizes the ongoing feeling of paranoia quietly perpetuating Trumpian-America with a nuanced edge, and it works because it's all too familiar.

We begin with a bravura opening sequence following prospective illegal immigrants attempting to cross the border into the US. A title-card reminds us that, in the 21st century, people have usurped narcotics as the number one most profitable smuggling resource, as they have become easier to cultivate and indeed control than their pharmaceutical counterparts. It's not long before one of said illegals sets of a suicide vest, seemingly killing several ICE agents within his vicinity, before three nefarious individuals follow suit by blowing up a Target in rural Kansas. Shit has truly hit the fan, and as a muslim insurgence has targeted innocent Americans on two occasions, and all roads seem to lead to the Mexican cartels.

Unsurprisingly, the US government want blood - or more specifically, they want to start a war. Under the tutelage of the slimy and wiley-eyed secretary of defence James Riley (Matthew Modine) he enlists returning DEA-Agent Matt Graver (Josh Brolin) to deal with the situation down south. It appears the cartels have smuggled in one too many undesirables, with the aforementioned terrorists being their most egregious transfer. Our federal agent's tactics are subversive and controversial at best, hence his assignment being on the down-low. Graver's views are simple: get back at the cartels and stop them from hurting the land of free, by pitting rivalling cartels against each other and watch them tear each other apart.

So Brolin mobilize's his most prized asset: the eponymous sicario (meaning Hitman in Spanish, Soldado meaning soldier) Alejandro (Benicio Del Toro) to "start a war with everyone". Things are different than before, as he says "No rules this time". And it's clear that's the thesis of the film - America will not lay down and take this level of abuse, so they turn it up a notch. Their plan is simple: kidnap the pre-teen daughter of the criminal kingpin Carlos Reyes - the scene-stealing Isabel (Isabela Moner) - and make it appear to have been the work of a rivalling criminal contingent - setting off a all-out war South of the border. Interspersed with this narrative is an adjacent sub-plot surrounding a young Mexican-American teenager Miguel (Elijiah Rodriguez), who is becoming indoctrinated into the gangster culture by his veteran-cousin.

Surprisingly for a sequel that is missing it's deadly trio in Blunt, Deakins and Villeneuve, "Day of the Soldado" benefits from it's low-key approach to filmmaking, as the storytelling becomes the forefront of the enjoyment- helped immensely by it's well-orchestrated pacing, and Taylor Sheridan's script, which is ripe with ideally pitched exchanges and surprising plot twists.

What's missing from this second helping that made the original so enigmatic are the individual set pieces which remind you of the ability of cinema to keep you on the edge of your seat. Many will remember the fantastic sequence from Villeneuve's "Sicario", which saw our law-enforcement contingent in the midst of a deadly standoff with the cartels at the US/Mexico border, as well as the sporadic snapshots of visual arresting backdrop from the now Oscar-winning eye of Roger Deakins. But "Day of the Soldado" aims to pack it's punch with it's political motives; and what appears to begin as a flag-waving satire which reinforces the conservative viewpoint about immigration south of the border quickly turns into a parable on the nature of paranoia and the value of human life.

The performances all-round are exemplary - Brolin and Del Toro work well of each-other in particular, and a supporting role from Catherine Keener - who's enlisted to babysit our gun-happy federal agents during the controversial mission - is always worth the price of admission. Inherently pointless in it's existence, but there are worse ways to spend two-hours.

Rating 4/5