Sicario (3 Stars)

As the film explains to us in the first few minutes, "sicario" is a word used in Mexico meaning "hit man". What we aren't told is who the Sicario is. For most of the film we don't see any hit man. It's only at the end of the film that we see who the hit man in the title is.

This is a film about an FBI agent who specialises in hostage situations being asked to assist the CIA in an operation against Mexican drug smugglers. She is soon shocked to find that her new colleagues act recklessly, endangering innocent bystanders in gun battles with drug cartel members. Do the ends justify the means? That's her moral dilemma.

I can appreciate the film, but I couldn't enjoy it in the cinema today. It's too dark, too violent, too realistic. The action sequences are more like a war than any level of police operation. After watching the film I tried to find a message that I could take with me, something to make the film a positive work of art, but I couldn't. Everything is negative. There is too much evil on all sides.