SICARIO DAY OF THE SOLDADO continues the story of Alejandro Gillick (Benicio Del Toro), a former attorney hellbent on vengeance after his family was brutally murdered by drug cartels. Multiple terrorist attacks across the United States are linked to cartel activity which leads to the Secretary of Defense calling in Matt Graver (Josh Brolin) to pull off an operation in Mexico that would set various major cartels against one another. Graver calls in Alejandro, his long-time collaborator, to make this happen.
The first phase of their plan is to pull off random hits on cartel officers which is then followed by
a kidnapping of Isabel Reyes (Isabela Moner), the daughter of one the cartel leaders. The plan is for them to implicate other cartels in these actions and to start a war between them. Things go awry when the kidnapping falls apart. Alejandro and Isabel become separated from the rest of the time while Matt is told the mission has been called off and that Isabel must be eliminated.
Alejandro was a somewhat mysterious character in the first film and was wildly unpredictable because of that. He has lost both of these qualities in the sequel which is somewhat disappointing. All of his mystique is gone and nothing he does is surprising this time around. On the whole, Alejandro is a much weaker character in DAY OF THE SOLDADO. He participates in the mission to kidnap Isabel, but within just a few hours he devotes himself to her protection. This is because she reminds him of his lost daughter, but he said the same thing about Emily Blunt’s character in the first movie and threatened her on multiple occasions.
The writing of Alejandro’s character might have suffered, but Benicio Del Toro’s performance is just as strong as it always has been. Alejandro remains as smooth an operator as ever, even when things are very clearly out of his control. Brolin is similarly entertaining to watch as the slightly irreverent Matt Graver. The final performance of note would be Isabela Moner as the would-be kidnapee, Isabel Reyes. Her introduction in particular is fantastic and her portrayal is just as strong throughout the entire story.
The action is significantly more explosive in DAY OF THE SOLDADO than its predecessor, typically involving multiple vehicles crashing into each other and rocket launchers and heavy machine guns firing off. However, there are still smaller-scale engagements such as the early hits on cartel members. There is one particularly gruesome execution scene that is much more intimate and visceral.
The harshest criticism that can be leveled would be towards the deeply unsatisfying ending of the film. This production sacrifices its own narrative, presumably for the sake of setting up another sequel. Multiple plots points are left hanging and the final scene is little more than a teaser of what’s to come for Alejandro. The only problem is that his character is significantly less interesting. Still, the action is as great as ever, the subject matter is handled effectively, though not quite as effectively as the first SICARIO, and the major performances are still a joy to watch. Overall, SICARIO: DAY OF THE SOLDADO gets a 3/5.
