Sicario (2015)
90%RT Audience Score: 85%
Awards & Nominations: Nominated for 3 Oscars
15 wins & 158 nominations total
Led by outstanding work from Emily Blunt and Benicio del Toro, Sicario is a taut, tightly wound thriller with much more on its mind than attention-getting set pieces.
Sicario is like a rollercoaster ride, but instead of loops and drops, it’s heart-pumping action and intense moments. The film is a thrilling experience that will leave you on the edge of your seat. The cast is perfectly chosen, and the score is hauntingly beautiful. It’s a movie that will stick with you long after the credits roll. So, buckle up and get ready for a wild ride through the world of drug cartels and the people who fight them.
Production Company(ies)
Frenesy Film Company, La Cinéfacture RT Features,
Distributor
Lionsgate Films
Release Type
Streaming, Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
Filming Location(s)
El Paso, Texas, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for strong violence, grisly images, and language
Year of Release
2015
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Digital Dolby Atmos Auro 11.1
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Aspect ratio:2.39 : 1
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Runtime:2h 1m
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Language(s):English, Spanish
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Oct 2, 2015 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 5, 2016
Genre(s)
Drama/Crime
Keyword(s)
starring Emily Blunt, Benicio del Toro, Josh Brolin, Victor Garber, Jon Bernthal, Daniel Kaluuya, Bernardo Saracino, Julio Cesar Cedillo, directed by Denis Villeneuve, written by Taylor Sheridan, drama, crime, mystery, thriller, R rating, box office gross $46.9M, reviewed by Jason Bailey, Adam Nayman, Alison Willmore, Mark Kermode, Geoffrey Macnab, Vadim Rizov, Danilo Castro, Therese Lacson, Kip Mooney, Olly Richards, Joanne Laurier, Richard Crouse, Emily Blunt as Kate Macer, Benicio del Toro as Alejandro, Josh Brolin as Matt, produced by Basil Iwanyk, Edward L McDonnell, Molly Smith, Thad Luckinbill, Trent Luckinbill, Lionsgate Films, Dolby Digital sound mix
Worldwide gross: $84,997,446
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $106,099,622
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 984
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 11,570,297
US/Canada gross: $46,889,293
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $58,530,421
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,005
US/Canada opening weekend: $401,288
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $500,915
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,404
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $30,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $37,448,051
Production budget ranking: 1,003
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $20,165,775
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $48,485,796
ROI to date (est.): 84%
ROI ranking: 998
Benicio Del Toro – Alejandro
Josh Brolin – Matt
Victor Garber – Jennings
Jon Bernthal – Ted
Daniel Kaluuya – Reggie
Director(s)
Denis Villeneuve
Writer(s)
Taylor Sheridan
Producer(s)
Basil Iwanyk, Edward L. McDonnell, Molly Smith, Thad Luckinbill, Trent Luckinbill
Film Festivals
Cannes, Toronto
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 3 Oscars
15 wins & 158 nominations total
Academy Awards
Oscar Nominees
All Critics (281) | Top Critics (65) | Fresh (258) | Rotten (23)
It’s a thoughtful film, but also a visceral and affecting one, capturing the intensity of these raids and encounters.
May 3, 2016
Jason Bailey
Flavorwire
TOP CRITIC
Sicario is as brilliantly made as Prisoners, perhaps even more so.
December 7, 2015
Adam Nayman
Reverse Shot
TOP CRITIC
Gorgeously made, with a set piece taking place in tunnels underneath the border that conveys chaos without ever looking incoherent and a throbbing Jóhann Jóhannsson score that’s the sound of very bad things on the horizon.
November 10, 2015
Alison Willmore
BuzzFeed News
TOP CRITIC
While Sicario may be guilty of exoticising the “murder capital” reputation of Juárez and its environs, it does so in a way that is horribly efficient, exploiting our anxieties and expectations with cruel precision.
October 11, 2015 | Rating: 4/5
Mark Kermode
Observer (UK)
TOP CRITIC
Sicario may leave an unpleasant taste but it is a slick, accomplished thriller.
October 9, 2015
Geoffrey Macnab
Independent (UK)
TOP CRITIC
A visceral, in-the-moment ride-along more than a movie to chew over for any length of time.
October 8, 2015 | Rating: 3/5
Vadim Rizov
Little White Lies
TOP CRITIC
The film’s message is troubling because it is often true: the longer we cling to our morals, the more susceptible we are to becoming sheep in a land of wolves.
May 17, 2022 | Rating: 8/10
Danilo Castro
Next Best Picture
Sicario offers nothing completely new within the genre (…) but it is still a heart-racing ride brilliantly casted (…) and brings a fresh take on a familiar story.
October 9, 2021 | Rating: 4.5/5
Therese Lacson
Nerdophiles
One of the most brutal, effective thrillers in recent memory.
August 10, 2021 | Rating: A-
Kip Mooney
Central Track
A thriller wound so tight that you’ll probably need a lie down and a sizeable drink afterwards.
May 5, 2021 | Rating: 4/5
Olly Richards
NME
Rooting a film … in personal revenge is one of the cheapest, laziest and most retrograde approaches possible.
February 26, 2021
Joanne Laurier
World Socialist Web Site
Isn’t a feel good movie about winning the war on drugs. Instead it’s a powerful look at a seemingly unwinnable battle and the toll it takes on its soldiers.
February 3, 2021 | Rating: 4/5
Richard Crouse
Richard Crouse…
Plot
Kate Macer leads a Phoenix based kidnap response unit for the FBI. Following Kate’s team leading a raid on a known drug den in nearby Chandler, Kate is recruited to work on a special ops team led by Matt Graver of the CIA, he who is on special assignment for the Department of Defense. They recruited her because they wanted someone with tactical procedures knowledge. Outwardly, the team’s mission, which works behind a Delta Force team as its primary gun power as required, is to decapitate a Mexican drug cartel by capturing or dismembering the workings of the main players, cartel head Manuel Díaz, his second in command Guillermo Díaz (Manuel’s brother), and drug lord Fausto Alarcón. Kate agrees to the assignment as she feels the work of this team would be more effective in stopping the drug trade in the US than the piecemeal work of her current kidnap response unit. The third on the team is a mysterious Hispanic or Latino man Kate only knows as Alejandro, and who she does not fully trust as she can tell that he is suffering from a very traumatic past. When Kate and the team arrive in El Paso for their first mission, Kate learns that the team’s workings are not all they appear on the surface – many of the proceedings which would not be considered above board or legal – despite the end goal being as she knows it to be. Still largely in the dark and only given information on a need to know basis, Kate decides to stick it out with the team if only to discover all that she is not told while still believing in the end goal. She may have changing or at least mixed emotions as she learns more and more about what is going on, including the specific reason why she was recruited.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Benicio Del Toro’s character, Alejandro, is described as “intense and shadowy” by Fresh Kernels.
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