SICARIO
An expertly made cartel thriller that demands adult discernment.
Should You Watch It?
Sicario is a tense, highly effective thriller that keeps you engaged almost to the end. Denis Villeneuve’s direction, Roger Deakins’ meticulous cinematography, strong editing, pace, and acting give the film real craft. Josh Brolin’s character also provides welcome comic relief.
But the film’s costs are severe. Its violence is grisly and brutally realistic, including murder, torture, explosions, bloodshed, and dead bodies. Its moral questions are legitimate, yet its characters operate in ethically compromised territory, and the story includes heavy profanity, sexual content, drinking, smoking, and drug-cartel themes.
The film shows evil as evil and asks whether evil can be stopped without becoming evil ourselves. Adults who can thoughtfully engage those questions may find it provocative and worthwhile. Families with children or young teens should stay away.
The Story
NO SPOILERS — WE KEEP THE SURPRISESKate is a tough FBI agent who does everything by the book. After a Phoenix-suburb house raid uncovers more than 40 kidnapped bodies, she joins an elite government task force pursuing the cartel leader responsible.
The mission takes Kate to Texas and Juarez, Mexico, where she works alongside government official Matt and Alejandro, a mysterious Colombian consultant. As the operation unfolds, Kate realizes that the people around her are willing to step outside the rules to win the war on drugs.
Is It Any Good?
Three stars means this is an effective, provocative film with significant flaws. Villeneuve directs the thriller expertly, while Deakins’ detailed framing keeps the images compelling without distracting from the story. The editing, pace, and acting also work well, and the movie rarely lets up.
The film is not groundbreaking, however. Kate’s idealism makes her difficult to like, and the filmmakers seem to assume viewers will share her devotion to proper governmental procedure. The movie’s journey and conclusion leave something to be desired, even though its craft and moral questions make it worth considering.
The Worldview
Sicario presents a light mixed-pagan worldview with positive moral, American, and other role models who fight evil but are eventually forced to compromise. It clearly portrays evil as evil while remaining morally ambiguous about how evil should be confronted.
The film raises legitimate questions about how far governments will go to achieve a supposedly noble goal. It can be read as criticism of America’s drug war, or as an argument that the cartel’s destructive viciousness makes force necessary at almost any cost. The movie also suggests that the government’s war on drugs may be making violence and crime worse.
The film’s central moral problem is that its characters use lying, deceit, and torture while pursuing justice. It recognizes the danger of repaying evil with evil but does not resolve that tension from a clearly biblical perspective. Scripture gives a different standard: “Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all” (Romans 12:17).
The Content Guide
The specifics — spoilers included by nature — so you can judge for your own family.
Content Summary
Light mixed pagan worldview with positive moral, American and other role models that fight evil, but who eventually are forced to compromise, evil is shown as evil, but there’s a message saying the American government’s war on drugs is only making violence and crime worse, and man says “time to meet God” right before murdering a family; nearly 40 “f” words, 12 other obscenities and six strong profanities misusing Jesus Christ’s name; extreme violence, includes grisly images of bodies with bags over heads being found inside the walls of a house, man loses his arm in a explosion, man’s throat is slit, explosions, men and women are hung naked and dead from bridges by the cartel, implied torture, man murders a man, his wife and two children, many people are shot with blood splatter; man and woman kiss on couch and it almost leads to sex; woman in bra, dead and completely naked bodies are seen from a distance, both male and female; some drinking and drunkenness; heavy smoking of cigarettes, and the plot revolves around the drug cartel, though no drug use is seen; and, moral relativism, lying to fellow government workers, deceit, and torture.
Talk About It
Questions for the drive home, the dinner table, or the youth group.
The film asks whether evil can be defeated by compromising morally. What does Scripture command when someone does evil to us?
Romans 12:17–21Kate tries to follow proper governmental procedure while others use deceit and torture. Why does integrity matter when the goal seems noble?
Proverbs 10:9 · Micah 6:8The story portrays evil as real and destructive. How should Christians respond to evil without becoming shaped by it?
Ephesians 5:11 · 1 Peter 3:9The film suggests that a government’s response to drugs may worsen violence and crime. How should we think about justice, authority, and the protection of the vulnerable?
Romans 13:1–4 · Proverbs 31:8–9The Final Word
Sicario is expertly directed, visually compelling, and morally provocative. But its brutal violence and adult content make it unsuitable for children and young teens. For discerning adults prepared to face its difficult questions, the answer is WORTH THE TRIP — ADULTS ONLY. For everyone else, choose from our family-friendly picks.
