Once you get over a bit of a slow start, the film proves to be entertaining and engrossing, and it draws attention to the inner, sometimes dirty, machinations of government and the jurisdictional "system". The acting is also pretty much all-around top-notch.

The only thing that I found as a slight negative, is that it really doesn't have any kind of re-watchabilty factor. Once you've seen and enjoyed it, as much as one can enjoy a film of this nature, I don't find that there is any allure to ever watch it again.

When three terrorists explodes a supermarket in America, the American government believes the responsible were the Mexican cartels smuggling terrorists to America. They decide to begin a war among the cartels and an unofficial command is assigned to kidnap the daughter of a kingpin and release her in the land of another cartel. However, when the government discovers that the responsible for the terrorist attack were American citizens from New Jersey, they decide to abort the plan and kill the girl. But things go wrong and do not happen as planned.

"Sicario: Day of the Soldado" is a messy and flawed film with great action scenes. There are so many plot holes that make no sense unless the viewer is brainless. The stupid beginning is absolutely pointless. The terrorist attack to the supermarket is an excellent scene, but the attitude of the mother heading with her child toward the last terrorist in the opposite direction people are running is senseless. The scene of Isabel Reyes fighting at school is another pointless scene. Why the Mexican police officers in the seven cars that joined the three American cars start shooting the American team? Why Alejandro risks his life to save the annoying girl? How can the teenager recognize a man that he glanced at in a car for a few seconds in the parking area of a supermarket in Texas? Why take Isabel to the witness protection program? How Alejandro crossed the border and was hospitalized? There are so many other questions about this flick that would take lots of time to write. My vote is five.

Title (Brazil): "Sicário: Dia do Soldado" ("Sicario: Day of the Soldado")

Absolutely love the first 'Sicario', a strong contender for Denis Villeneuve's (have a great personal admiration for him) best and a tour-De-force of film-making. It is superbly well made, directed and acted, is tightly written, tense and uncompromising in atmosphere.

So when hearing that there was going to be a sequel, part of me was excited. Due to Josh Brolin and Benicio Del Toro returning, as well as Taylor Sheridan as writer, and being intrigued by the concept. Part of me was also apprehensive, with it not being as acclaimed critically and whether the new cinematographer, director and composer would do well filling big shoes. Friend word of mouth was positive and it actually looked good, so that was enough to make me see it. Am so glad of giving it a chance, for me 'Sicario: Soldado' had a lot to live up to and managed to be almost as great as its predecessor, definitely one of my favourite recent film viewings and compares favourably with other 2018 films seen so far.

Catherine Keener and Matthew Modine are basically window-dressing but 'Sicario: Soldado's' main, and only big one, problem is the ending (or last ten minutes),which strained credulity and was both rushed and anti-climactic.

However, even with a different focus (focusing less on the drug war compared to the first film) but the spirit, basic core and amorality present before are still maintained and doesn't radically change much and things are elaborated upon..

'Sicario: Soldado' is impeccably made for starters, the setting is both audacious and visceral in showing the horrors and brutality of the setting and the editing is tight, stylish and enhances the brutal atmosphere. The cinematography is not Roger Deakins, but there are no signs of slouching with Dariusz Wolski whose cinematography is just as stunning and dark in grit, doing almost as amazing a job at bringing out the visceral horror.

The music score is haunting and pulse-pulsating, one can actually feel their heart beat with tension and anticipation. The sound editing is suitably authentic and Taylor Sheridan's script is just as tightly structured and complex as before. Stefano Sollima's direction has class and matches the beautiful darkness and especially the hard edge Villeneuve showed in 'Sicario' without being an imitation.

The story is just as taut and compelling, if not quite as energetic, having lost none of the brutality and edge that was there before. The setting, atmosphere and subject are neither overdone or sugar-coated, instead being suitably murky and dark. There are brilliant moments here, especially the suicide bomb attack which was nail-biting and superbly staged. The shocking execution scene and the adept choreography of the gun battles also impress.

All the performances are never less than strong. Benecio Del Toro is nothing short of extraordinary, he is absolutely chilling but brings a conflicted edge that gives Alejandro complexity and stops him from being one-dimensional. Josh Brolin doesn't have as much to do this time round but all the qualities his performance had in the first film are present here. Isabela Moner more than holds her own and has impressive moments, her character easily could have been annoying but actually found myself feeling for her more than once.

Overall, a great much better than expected sequel to a masterwork. 9/10 Bethany Cox