Prime Video movie of the day: Sicario stars a magnetic Emily Blunt in a brutal crime thriller from the director of Dune
Prime Video movie of the day: Sicario stars a magnetic Emily Blunt in a brutal crime thriller from the director of Dune
Emily Blunt is having a bit of a moment right now: she’s superb in The Fall Guy alongside Ryan Gosling, and once again shows her action chops as well as her acting ones. But fans of the actor knew about those action chops already from films such as Edge of Tomorrow and – most relevantly – Sicario, a complex and thought-provoking thriller where Blunt plays an FBI agent who begins to question her part in the war on drugs. With a cast that also includes Josh Brolin and Benicio Del Toro it’s absolutely one for your Prime Video watchlist.
Is Sicario worth streaming?
Yes. The performances are superb and it’s a real edge-of-the-seat thriller. Blunt is an FBI agent sent to the US/Mexico border as part of an elite task force, part of the never-ending war on drugs, and the team intends to use one cartel boss to flush out a bigger and more dangerous one. But as Blunt soon discovers, wars are messy and there are only shades of gray rather than black and white.
Empire gave the film the full five stars: “A beautifully murky, hard-edged thriller. Quite simply, one of the best films of the year.” RogerEbert.com felt it was a little too self-indulgent, but had a “flawless ensemble” and “that it falls short of greatness could be considered a disappointment, but there’s still much to like here.”
NME said that it was a “thriller wound so tight that you’ll probably need a lie down and a sizeable drink afterwards”, while Flavorwire said: “It’s a thoughtful film, but also a visceral and affecting one, capturing the intensity of these raids and encounters.” And according to the South China Morning Post it’s “a textbook piece of thriller filmmaking. The script is labyrinthine and credible, the locations look realistic, and the acting is uniformly superb.”
It’s arguably among the best Prime Video movies, though it will definitely be a bit too bleak for some. But it was directed by Denis Villeneuve, who made the Dune movies, so it looks stunning, as you might expect – but it’s definitely a more tight and frenetic version of his style, so is well worth exploring if you liked Dune and want to see more of his range.