Reposting from another thread as I would like to gather all the 4K viewing here:
Directed by Denis Villeneuve who was also responsible for the very good "
Prisoners" with Hugh Jackman, this thriller lives up to the hype around it.
Villeneuve's direction is solid as can be already appreciated from the opening scene, camera work somewhat reminiscent of Scott (
Alien) or perhaps Fincher (
Se7en).
The picture in 4K is excellent, the surroundings are not too colourful but you can't say the movie is overwhelmed by digital filters as some others are prone to be (actually the filters are there sometimes, but somehow they didn't bother me as much in this movie). Here again, be it stretches of land or roads or street traffic or character closeups, Villeneuve delivers.
The script and directing uses good pacing to install the atmosphere and provides space for the actors to do great work. Nothing is rushed and this is very welcome, apart from perhaps a couple of interactions between Blunt's character and her good friend, where the repetition and the pace seem to slow things down too much.
The music is understated but the backdrop it provides right from the very start fits very well: it is ominous.
The cast is great: Del Toro, Brolin the son, Blunt and Bernthal. Bernthal succeeds yet again, despite a very short role, to bring a lot of additional intensity to '
Sicario'.
The story is compelling but the payoff takes some time to appear. It doesn't mean that the development isn't interesting though, on the contrary. It is about the drug trade and cartels, so if you've watched '
Narcos', you'll enjoy this movie. However, although chronologically it is best to watch '
Narcos' then '
Sicario', I think I'd recommend watching '
Sicario' first then '
Narcos' if you haven't watched either, the reason being the way a cartel is evoked in '
Sicario' is powerful: it is done with awe, fear, terror and other dark sentiments in the voice, so it appears fitting to watch the movie first before then understanding how this name become so feared: the mythology of it just becomes more powerful.
I only have one more negative criticism about this movie (skip this paragraph as I wouldn't want to spoil your enjoyment) and that is about some of the protagonists being a little shallow in terms of character development. This is quite noticeable with Blunt who seems to always have the same sentiments and the same expressions throughout the movie. It's probably a result of how the script was written or the movie directed or both. But a couple of other characters also are like this, including Brolin's.
But this is a small point in an overall excellent movie. It could have been even better, but that won't make you enjoy it less at all.
The directing seems top notch most of the time and the real gem of the movie here is
Del Toro, who just as Freeman in
Se7en, provides a completely arresting performance despite being understated (like the music) throughout.