Lesson 119: Sicario: Day of the Soldado

The Filmlosophers, Eddie Villanueva, Chad Riley and Spencer Williams, try to come alive inside again after this week’s viewing of Sicario: Day of the Soldado (2018). Brutal and emotionally taxing, the sequel to Sicario (2015) sees the return of Josh Brolin and Benicio Del Toro as two members of a government-supported black ops group that is sent to tangle with the Mexican cartels and initiate a gang war to stop terrorists from entering the United States through the border with Mexico.

Directed by Stefano Sollima, the film also stars Isabela Moner, Jeffrey Donovan, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo and Catherine Keener. Fans of the Denis Villeneuve-directed original will find several parallels in terms of tonality, themes, visuals and sound editing. Whether or not that makes the sequel as memorable as its predecessor is worth questioning.