The First "Sicario" Trailer is an Intense Look in Mexican Drug Cartels

Among the films that I listed from this year's Cannes Film Festival, director Denis Villeneuve's Sicario ranked as one of my more anticipated movies. With last year's great Enemy, he proved to be a director who could make an intricate thriller into one of the most gripping stories of the year. With that in mind, I was curious to see what he would do next and with great reviews for Sicario already leaking out, it looks like another hit for the director. Today, we get our first glimpses into the Mexican cartel film with an all star cast with a trailer. Thankfully, it looks like more of the same from a director who knows how to make espionage and tension into high forms of art.

While I have made a habit of going into films lately as blind as I can, I have also eagerly anticipated trailers for them. If anything, I am hoping for a reassurance that what I'm about to see actually has some legs. Among the directors who have become more interesting to me is Villeneuve, whose crime stories have been some of my favorites from the past few years. I am not expecting this film to get much of an Oscars traction, at least in any major fields. However, I would love if the film is once again a top notch entry into an impressive directorial career (at least before he does the less interesting Blade Runner) with help from acclaimed cinematographer Roger Deakens. 

Check out the trailer below:

Looks good, doesn't it? Here's the plot description according to IMDb:

In Mexico, Sicario means hitman. In the lawless border area stretching between the U.S. and Mexico, an idealistic FBI agent is enlisted by an elite government task force official to aid in the escalating war against drugs. Led by an enigmatic consultant with a questionable past, the team sets out on a clandestine journey forcing Kate to question everything that she believes in order to survive.

With Emily Blunt, Josh Brolin, and Benicio Del Toro in the central cast, there's only hope that the film will deliver on its tense study of Mexican-American borders and the drug operations that go on between them. Considering that Del Toro previously played drug dealers in Traffic (for which he won an Oscar) and Savages, it looks like he may be playing somewhat of a familiar role. The only question is if it will be good enough to get him back into the Oscars circle.

As stated, it does seem like kind of a stretch to predict too many Oscar chances for this film. Villeneuve hasn't really made much of an impression in the past. So while it has Oscar-winning actors in its stable, I feel like it will be too edgy to be a serious threat. Of course, there hasn't been too many great Mexican drug cartel movies to really overthrow the balance. Maybe this will be the exception. Who knows. We will just have to wait and judge it alongside all of the other potential nominees come this fall.