7.5 / 10. Not an original story but well-acted and beautifully shot for such a dark subject matter

Sicario 2: Soldado is an action crime thriller directed by Stefano Sollima and written by Taylor Sheridan. It’s a sequel to 2015’s Sicario, with Benicio del Toro and Josh Brolin reprising their roles, but no Emily Blunt.

The sequel continues to focus on the drug war raging at the Mexican/USA border. When Mexican drug cartels begin smuggling terrorists across the border into the USA, US Government Agent Matt Graver (Josh Brolin) enlists mysterious assassin Alejandro Gillick (Benicio Del Toro) in a task to deliberately escalate tensions in the war…

Sicario 2 is a dark, taut and decent thriller, with a grim, if not particularly original story. However, there’s a tense atmosphere created via good cinematography and a haunting soundtrack, which sucks you into this dark, duplicitous world.

Benicio Del Toro is always a strong presence, showing a range of emotion without saying much, and shows a caring side under his sinister, cold, Sicario exterior. Josh Brolin is excellent as always, and Isabela Moner gives a great and varied performance as Isabel.Catherine Keener is a good addition to the cast as Cynthia Foards, but Emily Blunt’s FBI Agent, Kate Macer, was missed.

The scenes of the Black Hawks hunting the cars was well done and looked beautiful, and the car hijacking and chase sequences were well shot.