At the end of the day, it’s the fascinating and cohesive storyline packaged with brilliant cinematography that make Sicario an appropriate film to reign in the upcoming Oscar season.

Villeneuve directs it with a super heavy-hand: the tone belongs to an occult ceremony: everything is supersober, no one is meant to laugh and all grand proclamations (whether a line of dialogue or the sight of mutilated dead bodies suspended from a bridge) are followed by droney, town-hall music. While this maybe appropriate for the subject, it is also typical of Hollywood movies about individual protagonists who discover the ugliness inherent in a foreign landscape.

In Denis Villeneuve’s Sicario (Mexican slang for hitman), Del Toro plays Escobar’s ghost. Taylor Sheridan’s screenplay tries to imagine what it would be like if Escobar re-entered a game whose power centre has moved to the borders of the US. What might the Colombian, who died in a shootout in 1993, and whose Medellin cartel self-destructed soon after, make of the levels of brutality in Mexico that exceed the imaginations of the most lurid-minded scriptwriters?

Sicario may not be as tensely successful as some of director Denis Villeneuve’s past work, but it’s enthralling enough, smart enough and raises enough questions to be counted as another tick in the masterful filmmaker’s success column.

No doubt that this is a frequently mined area of operation for most Hollywood flicks. But Villeneuve doesn’t take the by-the-numbers route to achieve his distinction. The characters are beautifully fleshed out.

‘Sicario’, which means hitman, would suffer if Emily Blunt wasn’t playing that role. But it also suffers for putting her there, as the outsider in a film with few people without blood on their hands.

This film isn’t concerned with tender moments, but when it takes a breath and surveys the meaningless chaos in the world, it hits hard. And then you realize it’s only been two days since those hidden bodies, and you take a breath and survey the chaos in the world. That is when Sicario soars. This war will never end, but the battles can.

The drug problem in the US has no lasting solution, but temporary arrangements and compromises, is what this film tries to convey. It’s not something everybody can relate to, but it’s gripping enough to merit at least one watch if only for the star cast.

The film itself, which suggests that it may be too late to expect that the war on drugs can be won using ‘fair means’, seldom shies from the pessimistic view that there is no triumph and no redemption here. Villeneuve communicates those thoughts compellingly in this relentless film that never lets up. Don’t miss it.

Watch Sicario to experience the thrill and angst of the drug war. With nuances of cartel operation, corruption, brutality and morals dealt with realistically, Sicario presents itself as a neatly wrapped gift to all who can dare to open this Pandora’s box.

If you don’t already know what Sicario means, you’re in for quite a ride. Those aware of its meaning can probably figure out the mystery early on in the film, but will still have a blast. It’s a win-win and a demonstration of deeply awesome filmmaking. The excitement levels of Blade Runner 2 being directed by Villeneuve and shot by Deakins have now increased tenfold.

Sicario is grim, Sicario is dark, Sicario is also, in its quiet way, gorgeous.

Sicario is heavy on action and gritty realism. This is without a doubt, one of the best movies out this year.