Sicario (2015)
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A principled FBI agent joins a clandestine government task force to dismantle a brutal Mexican drug cartel.
The story
In Chandler, Arizona, FBI special agents Kate Macer and Reggie Wayne lead a raid on a Sonora Cartel safe house, where they discover dozens of decaying corpses hidden in the walls. Following the raid, Kate is recommended for and joins a joint task force overseen by CIA/SAD officer Matt Graver and the secretive Alejandro Gillick, a Mexican prosecutor turned CIA-trained assassin. Their mission is to flush out and apprehend Sonoran lieutenant Manuel Díaz, currently operating and hiding in the United States. The team, which includes Delta Force operators, Deputy US Marshals, and CIA personnel, travels to Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, to extradite Díaz's brother, Guillermo.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
After the raid in Arizona, Kate joins a joint task force including CIA and Delta Force members to apprehend Manuel Díaz. During a border crossing to Ciudad Juárez, the team encounters and kills cartel hitmen. Kate is forced to kill a Federal Police officer, leaving her shaken. Back in the U.S., Alejandro tortures Guillermo to find a smuggling tunnel near Nogales. Kate learns the true mission is to disrupt Díaz's operations to lead him to his boss, Fausto Alarcón. During a raid on a money-laundering bank, Kate and Reggie are ordered to stand down. Later, Kate discovers a local officer, Ted, is working with the cartel; Alejandro and Matt beat him for information. As the team moves to the tunnel, Matt reveals the CIA's plan to consolidate drug cartels under one manageable entity. In Mexico, Kate follows Alejandro as he abducts a corrupt officer. Alejandro eventually forces Díaz to Alarcón's estate, where he executes Díaz and Alarcón's entire family. Finally, Alejandro forces Kate to sign a statement declaring the operation legal, while she is unable to pull the trigger on him.
- First release year
- 2015
- Runtime (minutes)
- 121
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English; Spanish
- Directors
- Denis Villeneuve
- Writers
- Taylor Sheridan · writer
- Cast and characters
- Emily Blunt · Kate Macer; Benicio del Toro · Alejandro Gillick; Josh Brolin · Matt Graver; Daniel Kaluuya · Reggie Wayne
- Genres
- action; crime; thriller
- Themes
- moral ambiguity; war on drugs; betrayal
- Tone and mood
- tense; gritty; dark
- Premise and plot tags
- neo-western; action; crime
- Source material / true-story basis
- American Frontier Trilogy
- Content notes
- violence
- Reception
- The film received praise for its cast performances, writing, direction, musical score and cinematography, earning 'universal acclaim' on Metacritic.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 91% · scale: percentage · review count: 279; Metacritic · score: 82 · scale: 100 · review count: 48
- Awards and nominations
- Academy Award · Best Cinematography · Nominated; Academy Award · Best Original Score · Nominated; Academy Award · Best Sound Editing · Nominated; BAFTA · Best Supporting Actor · Nominated; BAFTA · Best Cinematography · Nominated; BAFTA · Best Film Music · Nominated
- Production trivia
- The film was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival.; The film is the first installment of writer Taylor Sheridan's American Frontier Trilogy.; A third film, titled Sicario: Capos, is in development.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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