Given the keen portrait of the Mexican/American drug war and a $84M worldwide gross, it’s no surprise writer Taylor Sheridan wanted to revisit the world of “Sicario” in 2018 with “Day of the Soldado.” Yet the film is rife with problems, and it’s hard to piece together where the fault lies. The film reunites CIA agent Matt Graver (Josh Brolin) with Colombian ex-pat Alejandro (Benicio Del Toro), who had great camaraderie in the first installment. Brolin is once again playing that wise/cynical field agent he did in the first, and Del Toro still the man set upon revenge. Yet the film, this time directed by Stefano Sollima, tries too hard. It feels less like inspiration and more like dollar signs. And without Emily Blunt or a similar counterpart as the film’s ethical anchor, it wanders into a world of bad guys and Wild West-type scenarios that are left unresolved.
“Day of the Soldado” leaves behind the world of drugs this time and fixates on a new threat: human trafficking and terrorism. The film’s opening highlights a few suicide bombing of supposed-Muslim terrorists, and walks us through terrorism defined by the Secretary of Defense (Matthew Modine). Graver is brought in—as he’s willing to play dirty as per the last movie—but Sollima throws Graver’s previous caution to the wind as he is now tasked with starting a war between Mexican cartels by kidnapping a kingpin’s daughter, Isabel (Isabela Merced) and blaming a rival gang. The kidnapping goes smoothly, but the follow-through does not; as a result, “Day of the Soldado” feels like it’s trying to play catch-up instead of staying one step ahead of the curve.
Too Ambitious or Not Enough
The problem with the second entry into the world of “Sicario” is the script feels too ambitious and not enough. It throws in a defense higher-up, Cynthia Foards (Catherine Keener) who knows Matt but answers to the POTUS, and doesn’t hold that fact back. And Matt’s played this game before; he knows that in order to get results you have to make noise, and the operation—which could easily end in Isabel’s death—seems not to shake him. It seems to shake Alejandro, with clear notes Isabel reminds him of his deceased daughter, which Sollima grows along the way. A sequence with Alejandro, Isabel, and a farmer—complete with sign language—is a sweet scene amongst a callous world. Del Toro becomes the most interesting thing about “Day of the Soldado,” which may have been intentional. But the messy way it concludes feels like a script struggling for purchase.
Other issues present in the quick-paced action of some of the scenes. Sollima wants to build suspense where Denis Villenueve, the first film’s director, sought almost biographical intent. The Mexican border is here not treated with the same deference nor trepidation, and Graver and his soldier escorts seem to operate with the knowledge this is a movie and lacking palpable danger. It also doesn’t help that the film’s proceedings are so shakily defined. To muddy the waters more, “Day of the Soldado” ads Miguel Hernandez (Elijah Rodriguez), a new initiate into a Cartel faction, who must be not much past 16 years old, but is led astray by a Cartel employee who is his cousin. Sollima does have in interesting scene with him, though, as he runs into Graver and company which acts as foreshadowing to the kind of person Miguel is becoming, for better or worse.
Still, Stellar Acting from Brolin, Del Toro, and Merced
The acting is good all around, for the most part. Del Toro and Brolin are good as characters they solidified in “Sicario,” and Merced—with a good amount of screen time—makes sense as a Cartel kid who has much to learn about life and death. However, some of the others don’t fare as well. Modine, who I loved in “And the Band Played On,” here struggles to pull the menace the Secretary of Defense should. And Keener—great in countless movies—struggles similarly. She’s a political tool caught up in a cynical world she has long ago accepted. The big surprise is that, in the 11th hour, Sollima and Sheridan want us to believe that Graver has not.
I think this is “Day of the Soldado’s” weakest link; it wants us to believe that Graver, who was but a seasoned, unsympathetic CIA drone in “Sicario” has suddenly grown a heart. But I think that’s misdirection. I think, under it all—and under all the horrible actions he’s taken—Graver actually wants the drug war to end. In “Day of the Soldado” he finds out his handlers don’t want it to. This provides a shock that changes his actions, but it all feels a bit forced and doesn’t jive with the Matt we’ve come to know.
Rounding the cast out, Jeffery Donovan is once again extremely likable as Steve Forcing, and Shea Whigam makes an appearance as a contact for Graver that hits all the right notes.
Struggles to Find its Footing
While the acting holds the film together, “Day of the Soldado” fails to leave an impact due to its sloppy third act and struggle to make a statement. Things happen, but we aren’t sure what the endgame is, nor why a failed op continues as long as it does. Merced holds it together; sometimes her eyes tell a story, while other times she reverts to the scared kid she should be. But Miguel and his cousin seem thrown in the mix in a forceful attempt at plotting, and Matt’s handlers turning on him blurs things further. It also doesn’t help Matt seems ineffectual this time around; his strength in “Sicario” came from being on top of every situation, and “Day of the Soldado” makes him more or less irrelevant and lets us know how little he’s valued. It dents our ability to sympathize with most of the players.
All-in-all, “Sicario: Day of the Soldado” is another foray into Mexican/American tensions that isn’t as powerful as the first go-around. Monstrous people on both sides do monstrous things, and without a moral compass, it feels more like the Wild West than moral play. Maybe it’s supposed to. But I found myself missing Emily Blunt and her hopeless idealism and also caring less about who came out on top. I don’t know if Sheridan and Sollima felt “Day of the Soldado” had the urgency of its predecessor. But it does’t feel that way. It’s filmed well and has entertainment value; just don’t expect an experience on par with Villeneuve’s stellar first entry.
“Sicario: Day of the Soldado” is available to rent or buy from most streaming services.
