Sicario review: Emily Blunt excels in a gripping cartel thriller

Sicario. A film that makes you yearn for Chris Eubank to be appointed presenter of Film 2015. And also yearn for more blood-pumpingly intense, thoughtful thrillers like this - where character and story are prioritised above all else.

Emily Blunt excels as Kate Macer, an idealistic FBI agent brought in to work alongside Josh Brolin's laidback government boss Matt Graver and Benicio Del Toro's mysterious torturer Alejandro in the war against drugs. Her refusal to accept the harsh realities on the Mexico-US border soon brings her into conflict with her superiors, while her physical safety is compromised.

Director Denis Villeneuve is having a big year, what with being tasked with the upcoming Blade Runner sequel. Meaning that all eyes - replicant or otherwise - are on his latest effort. On this basis, the omens are good. Sicario's well-structured plot keeps you guessing until a series of effective final act reveals make you reassess everything you've witnessed. At times, the tension is almost unbearable. One sequence involving a US task force locked in a traffic jam on hostile soil, surrounded by gun-toting enemies, barely lets you come up for air.

The attention to small visual detail - conveyed through performance and direction - ensures the film's audience identification figure Kate is highly credible and elicits your empathy. The sight of her hands shaking as she swabs blood from her hair tells us so much about her through just one shot.

Villeneuve's camera homes in on Blunt's face throughout, ensuring we feel (if not necessarily agree with) her reactions to the world and people around her. For about 70% of the movie, it involves the same horrified expression deployed by Bishop Brennan after being kicked up the arse by Dougal in Father Ted, but it's nonetheless convincing.

Smart enough to challenge your views, yet not too cerebral to alienate the mainstream, Sicario is a thoroughly engrossing watch that dazzles visually and connects emotionally.

Although cast as a supporting player, Del Toro owns this film in a role made for him. You can feel the anguish and hurt exuding from his eyes. At times, you just want to give the guy a hug... but then he does something utterly repellent that makes you question his true nature. The manner in which the character's layers are gradually peeled is masterful.

Roger Deakins' cinematography is outstanding, rendering the landscapes recognisable yet alien. The use of darkness is inspired, with one nighttime raid by the US agents seeing their silhouettes gradually blend into the pitch-black surroundings. We feel helpless, yet entranced.

Sicario does occasionally falter with its forays into a subplot that tries to depict the Mexican side of the drugs war. Unlike Traffic, it doesn't weave differing perspectives into a worthwhile whole, as the dramatic payoff is underwhelming given the investment and patience required.

Smart enough to challenge your views, yet not too cerebral to alienate the mainstream, Sicario is a thoroughly engrossing watch that dazzles visually and connects emotionally. On the strength of this, the future of Blade Runner is in safe hands.

Director: Denis Villeneuve; Screenwriter: Taylor Sheridan; Starring: Emily Blunt, Benicio del Toro, Josh Brolin, Victor Garber, Jon Bernthal; Running time: 121 mins; Certificate: 15