Movie: Sicario : Soldado (6-29-18)

[tragabigzanda]

Whenever there's active promotion on the part of somebody else, whenever I see somebody all dolled up for a fancy photograph and someone's handing out flyers or whenever there's active promotion for something like that, as an imposition on my day, I hate all those people and I want them to fail. I have a visceral reaction to advertising and promotion. There's just something about salesmanship that grates on me on a very base level and I react very negatively towards it. I want those people to suffer and I want their enterprises to fail.

[BurtReynolds]

So this was better than I had thought it would be, and I'd definitely recommend it to anyone who really enjoyed the first one.

I believe Burt said he liked it better than the original? I can't say I agree, but I can understand why one might. Basically Sicario : Sicario 2 :: Young Guns 1 : Young Guns 2. Where the first one was more languid with its pacing, creating some great moments of tension, and had more of an artful aesthetic, this one is more straightforward with its story, and has some elements that felt contrived and telegraphed. But it's every bit as dark and brutal as the first one, and it still doesn't spoon feed the viewer everything, even if a couple elements were telegraphed in pretty early on.

Some more spoilery thoughts/questions:

Spoiler: show

1. I struggled to latch on to the relationship between Benicio and Isabella. I get that he's still in mourning for his daughter, and can see why she might somehow remind him of her, but his desire to protect her seemed to come out of nowhere; as did his plan to get her north to her mother (was this even true, or was it just something he said once he had a gun to his head?)

2. The final scene with Benicio and the young gangster felt forced. You want to hire a hitman? How about you call any of the guys you've been hanging out with for the last few years instead of tracking down the kid who tried to kill you.

3. I got up to pee right after Benicio rescues/kidnaps Isabella from the guy who was trying to force her into his truck. Benicio shoots the guy, convinces the girl he means her no harm, they get in the truck...And then when I came back from the bathroom, they were trekking across the dessert and come upon the deaf farmer. What did I miss?

4. I loved where the relationship between Brolin and Benicio wound up. You can tell that something broke in Brolin when he had to leave his friend in the hands of his killers, and his buddy's comment of "glad it didn't have to be us" seemed to make him even more angry; meanwhile Benicio has a hole in his head and no more allies. It's a great setup for a third one, assuming the plot tackles this new divide between them.

Third one should be awesome.

Spoiler: show

1. I don't think there was really a mother. I think that was just a story.
2. A bit. I think he just wanted to do something with this kid specifically. I dont think he really needs a hitman. He just feels a connection to this kid I guess.
3. I can't remember? It wasn't anything interesting. Maybe the truck broke down or something.
4. This was Brolin's movie. He was great. I thought it was setting up to be Brolin vs Toro by the end, but I guess not? I also like Brolin's borderline psychopathic underling (the guy from Burn Notice). Seems like that guy doesn't care about anything or anyone.

-My only criticism with the first was I felt Emily Blunt's character was a bit of a wet blanket and she mostly just got in the way. She moped around a lot. I get why she was there, but feel like they could have done a better job with her. That type of character wasn't needed in a sequel, so I'm glad they avoided it.

-I agree about the bluntness and brutality of the action. It was refreshing to see.

-I get the Logan comparison, and Logan probably did the relationship stuff a lot better, but I was more interested in Brolin's side of the story anyway.

-It's hard to ignore the politics surrounding these movies, but it was never preachy, and everything served the story they were telling. What a lost art. The movie is pretty cynical all around anyway, which suits me lol.

-My big complaint with the second is that there were a couple of insane coincidences that were required to move the plot along, but I already bought in by the time they happen, so I forgive them. The plot kinda runs out of steam by the end and the pacing is a bit weird, but I still enjoyed the ride. The world they created was interesting on its own.

[tragabigzanda]

Whenever there's active promotion on the part of somebody else, whenever I see somebody all dolled up for a fancy photograph and someone's handing out flyers or whenever there's active promotion for something like that, as an imposition on my day, I hate all those people and I want them to fail. I have a visceral reaction to advertising and promotion. There's just something about salesmanship that grates on me on a very base level and I react very negatively towards it. I want those people to suffer and I want their enterprises to fail.