Sicario 2: Soldado review – A blood-splattered thriller

Mexican drug cartels are now smuggling Islamic suicide bombers into America — that’s the nightmare scenario that kicks off Stefano Sollima’s macho, blood-spattered, anti-Washington action thriller. It’s sure to thrill right-wing hawks who’ve been claiming for years that Islamic State exploits porous borders despite there being no actual evidence to support their view.

The 2015 original (which focused on drug trafficking) was directed by Denis Villeneuve, shot by Roger Deakins and featured an excellent central performance from Emily Blunt. That all three are missing from the sequel isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Sollima knows exactly how to choreograph chaotic violence and the set-pieces are gripping. Writer Taylor Sheridan also throws in the odd nifty line and, as ever, Benicio del Toro’s charismatic attorney-turned-assassin Alejandro looks gorgeously haggard. But this outing is more predictable and sentimental.

Alejandro and his old chum CIA agent Matt (Josh Brolin) are ordered to start a war between the cartels. The plan is to kidnap the daughter of one of the kingpins and make it look like the work of a rival gang. But then the mission goes wrong, and when Alejandro is ordered to kill the girl, he can’t do it.

The far-fetched ending is a blatant plug for Sicario 3. At one point an all-American blonde working for the cartel explains why she’s OK with the trafficking of humans: “Show me a job that pays more and I’ll take it.” I think the film’s cast and crew know how she feels.