Dennis Villeneuve brings a terrifying war front to theatres that most viewers would be petrified to fight in real life: the Mexican drug cartel. Throughout this harrowing, violence-packed, 2 hour endless tragedy, “Sicario” drives home the almost forgotten notion of the war on drugs – the thought that it was over.

Starring Emily Blunt as Kate Macer, an idealistic by-the-book FBI agent, the film dives right into the war with the Mexican drug cartel in a scene that keeps the viewer right on the edge of the seat. Alejandro (Benicio del Toro), a sadistic yet cunning assassin for the CIA leads Macer into the harrowing abyss of the true operations of the government along the U.S. – Mexico border. Macer seizes the opportunity but quickly realizes that she is well out of her investigate-first element; here, gunshots speak louder than words.

Typical to the action genre, words are not of the essence. However, breaking traditional pre-established notions of this genre are one of the greatest elements found throughout this feature film. When one thinks of action-packed movies like “Sicario”, he may imagine Chuck Norris with hilarious-yet-legendary one-liners that make the whole movie. Instead, “Sicario” makes every scene with extensive dialogue one to remember, with nothing being said that isn’t necessary to the overall development.

“Sicario” draws the audience in. They most likely have not felt the repercussions of the war on drugs, so when Villeneuve has Alejandro mercilessly murders men, women, and children alike, there certainly is a level of queasiness. Not once is this war glamorized to any extent – the raw emotion and homemade feeling attribute to the unrelenting abyss of drama.