The U.S.-Mexican border is not a place you take the family for a picnic. Unless you want that picnic to become a game of, “Can you survive?” You see, the Mexican cartel is in the business of drug trafficking. But it isn’t as lucrative as it once was. Apparently trafficking people turns a higher profit these days.
But we’re not just talking about “ordinary” human trafficking here, either, as bad as that is. The more problematic issue? Terrorists being smuggled into the United States by the cartel.
To stop the terrorists you need a plan. A good plan. A dangerous plan. You need some of the biggest and baddest in the business to get to the root of the problem: the cartel’s network of power and influence. And the Department of Defense decides that the only people suitable for a toe-to-toe match-up with the cartel are rogue agent Matt Graver and a wildcard assassin named Alejandro.
They’ve been given all the resources they need to complete one mission: pretend to be members of a rival cartel pitted against drug overlord, Carlos Reyes, abduct his 16 year old daughter, and start a war in Mexico.
They only have one guideline: There are no rules.
Alejandro, who is a vigilante of sorts, shows great compassion for Isabel Reyes, daughter of the infamous cartel leader responsible for killing his family. After a close call, Alejandro and Isabel seek refuge with a deaf family. Alejandro is able to communicate with the father, as his own deceased daughter was deaf, too. Alejandro’s compassion and interest in their lives resonates with Isabel. There is also the sense of wanting to protect an innocent child despiteher family’s notorious corruption.
The United States government wants to put an end to terrorist infiltration and human trafficking, though the government’s desire to protect people doesn’t always jibe with the anything-goes tactics we see here. We watch as government agencies attempt to get a grip on the problems that surround the U.S.-Mexican border. They discuss the complexity of the strategic situation.
A Muslim suicide bomber kneels to pray on a prayer mat, and another prays before committing suicide. Other prayer mats are found around a crime scene. We here a dismissive reference to ISIS.
Women wear shirts revealing cleavage.
Harsh violence permeates this film.
Vehicles are blown up, airstrikes are ordered, people are shot at point-blank range and hit over the head with guns. Homes, villages and convenience stores get bombed, resulting in many casualties. (We see these violent scenes onscreen and hear them referenced in dialogue as well).
Certain moments in particular are deeply disturbing, such as seeing a suicide bomber kill a mother and her child by detonating a bomb in a store. Elsewhere, a man gets shot in the face, and we glimpse his gory, gaping wound and plenty of blood. Young boys riding in a truck are shot dead. People are bound, gagged, and forced to watch their loved ones die. Blood spews and smears the faces and bodies of some victims. People carry guns, knives and grenades.
A man says he wants to cut a woman up and feed her to his fish. Two young women get into a fist fight at school. A young woman is kidnapped and cries in fear. A woman who attempts to cross the border is left behind after she gets swept away in the river’s current.
The f-word is heard more than 30 times. Other profanities include multiples uses of the s-word, “h—,” “a–” and “b–ch.” Many profanities are heard in Spanish as well, some that are captured with subtitles and others that aren’t. A young woman is referred to as a “narco whore.”
A man mentions how profitable trafficking cocaine can be. People (including young boys) smoke cigarettes, as well as drinking hard liquor and beer.
Young boys are offered a “better life” with high pay if they are willing to help people cross the border illegally and carry out the wicked whims of those in charge. If these young men refuse to kill on command, or if they’re caught in a lie, they’re immediately killed.
Likewise, cartel leaders and their cronies treat immigrants (and their own disobedient people) as if they’re less than human. They are interested only in profit; when people cannot pay, or when they get out of line, they are disposed of.
A man sent on a dangerous mission is abandoned when the stakes get too high. A young girl knows the power her family name holds and wields that influence to get what she wants.
It’s hard to make a perfect sequel. There’s a lot to live up to. Characters, storyline, plot—they’re all important. Some films really nail the second installment, while others fall by the wayside. Sicario: Day of the Soldado falls well short of its predecessor, 2015’s Sicario.
First, there’s no Emily Blunt. Second, the storyline is so chaotic that it’s difficult to follow. In the end, the narrative derails awkwardly, suggesting another sequel is likely in the works.
But a convoluted story is hardly the only problem here. Day of the Soldado is propelled by jarring, violently graphic imagery that seems designed solely to shock. Combined with a lot of harsh language, it feels as if its makers took the first similarly violent film in this franchise, robbed it of its human essence and threw it back out to see what would happen.
The result: a soulless sequel that’s drenched in blood and brutality almost from start to finish, perhaps even numbing us further to the serious issues it’s supposedly striving to address.
Kristin Smith joined the Plugged In team in 2017. Formerly a Spanish and English teacher, Kristin loves reading literature and eating authentic Mexican tacos. She and her husband, Eddy, love raising their children Judah and Selah. Kristin also has a deep affection for coffee, music, her dog (Cali) and cat (Aslan).
