Nowadays, most of my reviews are only in Spanish. But after seeing “SICARIO: Day of the Soldado,” I wanted to add to the conversation that is taking place in English, the perspective of a Latin American critic, living in Los Angeles. Before diving into the aspects of the film that I find problematic, I will try to answer the most basic question for a review: is it a good movie?

Bueno, or No Bueno?

The sequel maintains some of the most recognizable elements of its 2015 predecessor, including the audiovisual style, an atmosphere of tension and dread, and two members of the cast, Benicio Del Toro, and Josh Brolin, now more protagonic and displaying less villainous versions of their characters. The acting and the work behind the camera are solid. What it is inferior, is the script, from returning writer Taylor Sheridan: all the clarity, insight, nuance, and sensibility of the previous work is gone. I repeatedly found myself questioning the goals and logic behind many plot developments and character decisions.
Overall, and strictly as a cinematic production, it probably has more strengths than shortcomings, so I can’t say that this is a bad film. But allow me to explain why I believe that it does no good.

Wall of Distortions

The “SICARIO” brand communicates the idea of a fictional story grounded in reality, that takes a peek behind the veil of secrecy of the Intelligence apparatus, and the underworld it intends to combat. But most of the information, presented here as self-evident truths, is actually a collection of inaccurate and exaggerated statements, closer to talking points expressed on FOX News, than reliable data from independent organizations. “The Mexican Border, controlled by the Cartels,” and “The number one source of income for Cartels isn’t drugs, but smuggling migrants” are just a couple of examples. But linking unauthorized migration to terrorist organizations, on top of having absolutely no trace in reality, it’s the ultimate lie championed by anti-immigration fringe groups. In this story, migrants are indirectly financing and facilitating the entrance of terrorists into the U.S. Are these migrants outraged by this new, horrifying reality? Do they even care? We don’t know, because they are portrayed like an anonymous mass, immutably swarming into improvised “bus stations,” run by the Cartels. “Treat them like sheep!” spits out a Coyote, and that’s exactly what the movie does.

Land of the Death

Equating Latin America to death is a growing and exploitative narrative in Hollywood productions. The first movie doesn’t shy away from chaos and carnage, but at least, it explicitly states that the focus is Juarez. Here, Mexico isn’t just a lawless country, but pretty much a failed estate where comando groups can easily kill civilians and create mayhem in plain daylight, in the middle of busy streets, without any signs of police presence. And when Mexican authorities do appear, all of them are corrupt, acting as mercenaries at the orders of the cartels. Not a single good apple in this war zone. Anywhere South of the border seems to function as the post-apocalyptic wasteland in a sci-film film: nothing good can come out of it, so building a massive wall is the only reasonable measure.

Day of… “the Superpredator”?

The ending of the previous entry in the franchise, featured a bunch of poor children playing soccer in Juarez, including the son of a recently killed corrupt cop, whom we have followed throughout the film. He is just like any other kid in the world: sweet and innocent, a promise of a hopeful tomorrow amid today’s turmoil. Now meet his polar opposite, a Texan boy named Miguel Hernandez (Elijah Rodriguez), born and raised on the American side of the border. As if quickly becoming a heartless gang member wasn’t enough, Miguel is also a de facto traitor to his country, the United States. How do his immigrant parents react to this? Again, we don’t know. Moreover, the film never tries to justify his transformation with specific circumstances, nor comments on the improbability of this cold-blooded, teen Mexican-American trafficker-traitor. On the other hand, the one, undeniably good Mexican character is presented as a rarity: a sweet, middle-aged mute man, living in the middle of nowhere.
In times when sons and daughters of immigrants are denigrated daily with terms like “anchor babies,” the Dreamers “lazy,” and even “criminals,” a character like Miguel represents the ultimate insult. He is the embodiment of “a superpredator,” a racist and vilifying concept crafted in the early 90’s to make young minorities appear like threatening and violent killers, driven more by nature than upbringing.

Sequelae

The thesis of the first “SICARIO” seemed to be “This is a complex, localized, human tragedy, that has it roots and consequences on both sides of the border, and that deserves to be researched, and debated.” Instead, its sequel is a gung-ho revenge thriller, where the monsters of the previous entry are now presented as quirky, heavily armed heroes, that show fearful bureaucrats “how the job gets done.” By oversimplifying the issues, taking inspiration from defamatory right-wing fabrications, and pushing the viewer’s buttons, the movie becomes a fear mongering and flammable concoction, thrown onto the cultural landscape at the highest peak of hate and intolerance in recent U.S. history.
Is it accurate to label “SICARIO: Day of the Soldado” as anti-immigrant propaganda film? If “demonstrable intention” is a requirement, probably not. But regardless, it is a vehicle for toxic messages that can only have a negative effect on people’s perception, and today’s immigration debate. Like a mule, willingly or not, it smuggles seeds of xenophobia into American ears.

“SICARIO: Day of the Soldado” will be released in theaters on June 29.

In “SICARIO: Day of the Soldado,” the series begins a new chapter. In the drug war, there are no rules – and as the cartels have begun trafficking terrorists across the US border, federal agent Matt Graver (Josh Brolin) calls on the mysterious Alejandro (Benicio Del Toro), whose family was murdered by a cartel kingpin, to escalate the war in nefarious ways. Alejandro kidnaps the kingpin’s daughter to inflame the conflict – but when the girl is seen as collateral damage, her fate will come between the two men as they question everything they are fighting for.