i think the whole point of this movie is to tell us if you smell something bad, it's probably dead people stuffed into the walls of your house.

@nickames3808

4 жыл бұрын

LOL

@TrinidadJamesWoods

4 жыл бұрын

Ah, yes...a tale as old as time itself.

@darylnd

4 жыл бұрын

Could cause problems for the seller if he didn't include that on the disclosure form.

@sinakimyu

3 жыл бұрын

Brb gotta clean the bodies out of my walls

@msh104utube

3 жыл бұрын

@@darylnd "Rent generating property (potentially)! Tenants interested in staying!"

“you’re in a land of wolves now, and you’re not a wolf” is the perfect way to describe kate in this movie

@eduardojesusjorgepascual1781

9 ай бұрын

They can't even with the Taliban will they be able to with Hispanics? hispanic power kicks gringo*😅😅😅

@jacksinsel8798

9 ай бұрын

Facts! He described her perfectly in the end.

@completelytransparent6320

8 ай бұрын

@@eduardojesusjorgepascual1781 stupid? yall hSPICanics are right underneath the U.S.?? take some lsd gringo

@bradleywoods3742

7 ай бұрын

@@eduardojesusjorgepascual1781 Is that why gringos have the best militaries in the world? Keep dreaming boy

@christhofer3492

4 ай бұрын

​@@bradleywoods3742and still managed to lose a war to some farmers 😭😭

Right after the shooting at the border Kate says “Are you trying to start a war!” I remember thinking how naive she was for not realizing that the war is already raging all around her.

@ima8533

2 жыл бұрын

Women

@pluginleah

Жыл бұрын

And the war continues. The end of the movie is a kids soccer game interrupted by gunfire.

@Zephur0s

Жыл бұрын

@@ima8533 really 😐

@theGovernmentHatesYou

Жыл бұрын

@@ima8533 yep. Kitchen job is what they need.

@ima8533

Жыл бұрын

@@theGovernmentHatesYou sexist pig

They played her like a radio. Her signature at the end was why she was there.

Kate isn’t the villain, she’s the audience.

@cymanca

3 жыл бұрын

ACB Films Brilliantly stated!!!

@Hoopla10

3 жыл бұрын

I find the suggestion she's the villain kind of warped tbh. She's the audience, but also the audience's ideals. She's not just FBI, she's HRT, they're tough as fuck. They're the best of the best at what they do. But they work within the legal parameters of what we the public expect of these elite officers. When people complain Kate isn't tough enough, she should harden up they don't get what the film is telling us. This isn't Hollywood. She isn't a Hollywood action hero. Nor should she be. So to suggest she's the villain BECAUSE she doesn't adhere to Hollywood action hero tropes is kind of disturbing imo.

@libextremist

3 жыл бұрын

If she is,then she's a terrible one. Because I don't feel connected or relatable to her at all.

@Hoopla10

3 жыл бұрын

@Alexander She leads the raid. You think HRT lets random FBI agents to lead the raid? lol

@Hoopla10

3 жыл бұрын

@@libextremist This is kind of the point of the disconnect when you compare this to other more Hollywood type films. In these kind of films Kate's role is to introduce us (the audience) to the world that's being revealed. Using the hero's journey as an example in films like SW or LotR the hero experiences something, grows and returns changed and transformed. In those films what they've transformed into is that more hero trope (they win and return victors). That's a satisfying hero arc and it's why it's used repeatedly. But that's not what Sicario is about and is why people don't feel satisfied with her character. The line: "You are not a wolf, and this is a land of wolves now." people think is cool. It's not meant to be cool. And maybe that's one of Sicario's downfalls, like American History X, its framing is sometimes at odds with its message.

If you think there is a hero and a villian in a movie like Sicario, you didnt get the ideia.

@phyzics4all343

3 жыл бұрын

Exactly, Sicario is the real deal. No Villain, no hero ... only interests and bullets. That is how War works, no good guys or bad guys. Only interests... The rest is Hollywood...

@thatbasedfeliscatus577

3 жыл бұрын

@@marcuspettibone9640 I heard that the walls of hell are lined of good intentions.

@mikejunior211

3 жыл бұрын

@@phyzics4all343 So you mean to say that the cartel bosses are NOT bad people? wow, just wow.

@rabbitazteca23

3 жыл бұрын

@@mikejunior211 according to the cartel, the Americans were the reason why they act that way. So in that way they are victims too. He even said "where did you think we learned from?" I agree in what the others said, there is no such thing as bad or good. What you see as bad will always have another person see it as good. No way for you to objectively/factually prove your opinions are the factual truths.

@mikejunior211

3 жыл бұрын

@@rabbitazteca23 With all due respect, yours got to be the most idiotic take I have ever read in the internet. I am very sorry, because I never try to be mean on purpose, and I always try not to insult anyone, even those who deserve being insulted but, oh boy, I cannot believe that people can miss the mark so badly in something as simple as an entertainment form of art such as a film. The part where the cartel boss told Alejandro "where do you think we learned it from" He was obviously referring to the Colombian cartels. He was trying to psychologically negotiate with Alejandro. He believed he was working for the Medellin cartel The Juarez cartel boss was telling Alejandro that he was not better than him, because he was now an assassin. And all the torture techniques the cartels do they learned it from the Colombian cartels during the 80's and 90's. This has a lot of sense if we remember that the Colombians had the monopoly of drug trafficking back in the 20th century while Mexico was just a bridge, later the Mexicans betrayed the Colombians and created the Juarez, Sonora and Tijuana cartels...Making a lot of enemies in the process...It was left unclear if Alejandro was still working for the Colombians or that was only assumed by Diaz. In any case The CIA was the one using Alejandro to kill Diaz, although he had personal motives...But Diaz wasn't sure of this and assumed he was sent by the Colombian cartels bosses for whom Diaz himself worked decades ago, hence the "who do we learned it from" comment. However and In summary, even entertaining the idea that the drug cartels are not the bad guys is totally moronic...of course everyone has a dark side and a good side...But just because even monsters like Ted Bundy or Charles Manson might have had a good side that doesn't make then less of a monster. The drug cartel boss said "It was not personal" meaning it was just business to kill and torture innocent people... He himself was after all still capable of show love...(towards his wife and children), while other people's wives and children was worth to kill and torture because it was just business... This doesn't make him less of a monster. Granted, we all have a dark side, but the good overshadows the bad for the vast majority of us... For others is the opposite...That makes the difference of who is good and who is bad... And thinking that the drug cartels and the DEA officers are all in-distinctively good and bad is beyond stupid. Again I'm very sorry if I come out as belligerent, but I'm flabbergasted when people can have such wrong takes on things that (for the most part) are crystal clear.

1:28 Matt is aiming at managing the chaos to an acceptable level, whatever the cost. Alejandro is aiming at avenging his family, whatever the cost. Kate is aiming at maintaining the rule of law, whatever the cost. Matt and Alejandro are using each other to achieve their own ends. Matt is using Kate. Alejandro is if anything sympathetic to Kate because he is cynical about the relationship between Matt and himself - he regards her as naïve and unready. About the cartels, because she has not had a daughter dissolved in a vat of acid and about Matt too, because she thinks he is also on her side. He tells her at the end that she is living in a land of wolves, and she is not a wolf. Kate is not the villain. She is the third side of the triangle struggling against each other for the best possible justice. She prioritises protecting the innocent. Alejandro prioritises punishing the guilty. Matt's priority is that whatever way it ends up, it happens in a quiet and orderly fashion.

@witnesstochange1801

4 ай бұрын

This is the best analysis of the movie that needs more upvotes!!

@thebeebyboys1751

4 ай бұрын

look at you dig out the platonic triad.

@glacialimpala

4 ай бұрын

True but some moments simply don't make sense at all, because she acts out of character, if her character is supposed to be able to think ahead and not act impulsively. How she couldn't see the angle with long game and the bank and all. It's as if she went straight from high school to this assignment. Not for a second can we imagine her as being uniquely chosen to be the right person for this job, or to have had any non-office experiences. Don't even get me started on how dumb it was to make her unaware that the whole thing was greenlit by everyone above her. And her and the black dude's ego! 'They sidelined us so let's ruin this whole multi year operation that cost dozens of human lives in order to prevent murder of thousands more in years to come'. Ugh, I hope the third movie will be good.

@Heimdall2011

3 ай бұрын

True. Kate also realizes that the methods of Matt and Alejandro create a huge risk of erasing the difference between criminals and state officers.

@mechanicaldavid4827

3 ай бұрын

So... who put the hit on her? No mention of that, a fairly big part of this film.

I think the biggest part of kate is that she isn’t naive, at least towards the middle of the movie, but she chooses to be ignorant. She knows exactly what the cartel will do, and what they do to normal people. The house raid, Alejandro’s family, the dirty cop, her superiors telling her that there are no rules. She’s trying to rationalize everything under some misplaced sense of justice and moral superiority. That she’ll never be them, instead of understanding that people like Matt and Alejandro, who’re fighting fire with fire, are the solution. And apparently an effective one. She just refuses to accept that, because it doesn’t conform into her perspective, and she refuses to acknowledge anyone else’s. At the end, Alejandro tells her to “move somewhere where the rule of law still exists”, because if she doesn’t, it’ll kill her.

@cjchonkoable

4 ай бұрын

She's what a lot of women and liberals are: self-righteous!

@garad123456

3 ай бұрын

That doesn't make her a villain though. And I don't think it's fair to say that "she chooses to be ignorant". She's not complaining about some minor formalities, she's seeing very morally ambiguous things. She's right to question even her authorities. The whole thing is just so deeply messed up, that she has to finally figure out that she can't change it. And guys like Alejandro definitely aren't morally her superior. They're also ignorant, just about different things. Alejandro is going around killing completely unrelated people like the police officer in order to fulfill his revenge fantasy. To say that Kate is the villain is silly. Makes a good clickbait title but she's not the villain.

She's not a villain. She's just not a wolf. And she was in the land of wolves.

@smokeralots7284

4 жыл бұрын

BULLSHIT SHES THE VILLAIN BECAUSE SHES A SNITCH!

@marcadriano4568

4 жыл бұрын

A sheep in a land of wolves

@poisonapleproduction

4 жыл бұрын

indeed

@thatitalianguy7791

4 жыл бұрын

She was not in the land of wolves, she was in the land of hyenas and she was not capable to understand it. Alejandro has said it a the beginning of the movie "Your American Eyes Will Not Understand" She is the antagonist,yes,but not the villain. She was scared to be a criminal so she got in panic.

@opsaboteur1524

4 жыл бұрын

Snitches get stitches

I served with a couple of guys that work both in Border Patrol, and in US intelligence, and they said sicario is the most accurate depiction of human smuggling we have today in a Hollywood depiction

@bartsullivan4866

2 жыл бұрын

I can believe it and after awhile even the most hardened by the book agents like Kate's will eventually change there minds to that of Alajandro's given enough time.

@EarlofCrawford

2 жыл бұрын

Sure thing, Walter

@radforduniversity6424

2 жыл бұрын

@@EarlofCrawford It's a league game, dude

@xmanc5687

2 жыл бұрын

Yep it’s very out of control at the border

@sethshaw5680

2 жыл бұрын

Yea that's absolutely not true

She's not the villain. She's a representation of us, the spectators. We uncover this dark twisted world through her eyes. She is the law abiding, FBI hero that doesnt understand the rules of the game and her naivety is constantly faced with the harsh reality.

@memesouls8653

Жыл бұрын

Well for many of the major fans of the film, who are ex-military or law enforcement, her portrayal is often mocked as annoying and warped to rally people behind the notion that war is bad. Yes, I agree war isn’t a fun or enjoyable concept, but it’s sadly a necessity in our world. People who work in these fields need to understand that there are no rules in war. There is no black and white. We aren’t expected to fight against the enemy with a book. Civilians don’t understand that without these people, we wouldn’t have the luxuries we have grown accustomed to. We wouldn’t be here sitting on our phones watching KZread all day or taking our dogs on walks through the park. These people protect our nation security and often times have to do shady things to do so. I’m not going to be so quick to judge a field that I don’t fully understand. My father always told me the stories about his time in the special forces but he never brushed upon the truth of what he had to do at certain moments. I understood that it was probably for the betterment of my sanity. I respect those who lose their morality in order to do the tough things others won’t do.

@neymarmessironaldo5881

Жыл бұрын

@@memesouls8653 I get your point. I completely agree that war is a necessary means to end evil shit such as cartels. She represents the civilian part of the world but i dont think she is a villain, shes just naive. I will always respect american soldiers and I admire your country's patriotism, my father served with americans many times.

@memesouls8653

Жыл бұрын

@@neymarmessironaldo5881 My father actually served with the Singapore special forces and worked along side Americans. Also yeah I agree her character isn’t the villain per say, but she’s definitely an obstacle for the protagonists and is often a liability.

@deadnorth8648

Жыл бұрын

Lol... since the joke of Vietnam, never understood why America stepped off soil for anything, not sure you ever helped, or didn't start wars for endless stupid reason... Not against military, but you're all fighting the rich overlords wars, while thinking you saved the world... Nothing about the middle east had a point, and this movie shows you that its clearly being started for money and control. This movie doesn't put military in a good light, its flat out showing you how bad it is... But yes let's play c.o.d and jer k ourselves off

@kbrich-nn8od

10 ай бұрын

But she obviously found out in the end though'/!!!

Well...I think from Kate's perspective, fighting evil with evil, makes you evil. She doesn't want to be evil.

@heathmcrigsby

Жыл бұрын

So her (and people like her) milquetoast hamstringing will go nowhere leaving both sides locked and more innocents suffering.

@maverickdoe6984

Жыл бұрын

@@heathmcrigsby Agreed. Committing acts of evil upon evil people is justice. It's the only thing evil people understand.

@DhirC35

Жыл бұрын

Fighting evil with good never works. Unfortunately

@cartergirl3of3

Жыл бұрын

Yeah but she saod herself nothing else would work so she is just perpetuating the problem. Having people waste time and resources getting nowhere.

@cnak8723

11 ай бұрын

Eye for an eye

I think the whole point of this movie is moral ambiguity. There is no real 'hero' or 'villain' here because that is exactly what the movie tries to dispel. This analysis missed the entire point of the movie in insisting on the traditional sense of hero vs villain in telling a story.

@didsheaskaboutme

5 жыл бұрын

completely agree

@rasaecnai

5 жыл бұрын

Randolph Sturling Really? Whoaw my doctor said that my autism is very mild people will hardly notice it. Yep Mom was worried but now she is proud of my ability to comment on you tube channel to express my opinion. Ive been a really good boy trying to keep my infirm intellect on the down low! You sir must be a very observant internet person to notice, especially since my mom told me that idiots and imbeciles are a plenty in the internet i will blend just right in.

@shamusbob7969

5 жыл бұрын

The analysis tries to break it down pretentiously, thinking that a movie that's so grey in morality is about black and white morality. To paint anyone as a clear cut good guy or clear cut bad guy in this movie is a huge mistake as a viewer when approaching the movie. There is no one to root for, in the end we'll all just accept it as a part of our daily lives, which is why the soccer game continues playing normally after the gunfire is heard. Morality doesn't live in a place with no morals, so to even start off with "good" vs "bad" as the definitive concepts are a mistake. I think they wanted a more provactive title to get more clicks, because the video itself and the observations are pedestrian and things everyone was supposed to notice.

@dagothhyde7297

5 жыл бұрын

i knew it was a bad analysis when he said heroes journey

@neocortex-es3zv

5 жыл бұрын

I think you folks miss the point as well - there is a clear good guy - us. The message is focused more on methods - as driven home multiple times during the movie. There is a way to handle the cartel - and its not through standard law enforcememt ops. The female was appropriately identified as the problem - she was the weak link. She couldn't adapt and became a liability.

Kate is how we want to see the world, how we hope it is. Matt and Alejandro is how the world actually is. It ain't black and white, it's just gray. "Medellin refers to a time when one group controlled every aspect of the drug trade. Providing a measure of order. That we can control. And until someone figures out how to convince 20 percent of the US population to stop smoking and snorting this shit, order is the best we can hope for... Alejandro is working to return that order."

@cesarcampos8950

3 жыл бұрын

DEA and mexican Federal Police cooperated with the Cartel de Sinaloa (El Chapo, El Mayo) to fight against Los Zetas and the Beltrán-Leyva brothers, in the well known Guerra contra el Narco imposed by expresident Felipe Calderón, that's how Juárez and all of Mexico started getting worse and worse over the last 14 years I think it nods this events

@itstrbo

3 жыл бұрын

Agreed she's a simple tool for complex problems...

@askani79705

3 жыл бұрын

Operation Fast and Furious was the U.S government trying to ensure a winner while framing U.S. gun owners.

@juainott5281

3 жыл бұрын

@@cesarcampos8950 agreed, the CIA is behind this, mexicans have no idea calderon was just a puppet and not by choice, hes smart enough to do what US Gov says or else... they make you a dictator or an enemy of the world and get you killed.

@TomAnderson_81

3 жыл бұрын

C W I’m not too informed. Who are the “Leftists” and why do you feel they have allowed something as opposed to them attempting to fix the situation?

Her character's purpose is to show that behind her game there is a metagame to which she is oblivious. It is a reality check for her (and us).

@Bebtelovimab

26 күн бұрын

We see the drugs, the smugglers, the cartel, the government, and the addicts. Kate's the addict. She just smokes a different drug.

This is why writers use the term 'antagonist' instead of "villains/bad-guys". A character can be opposed to the objectives or missions of a piece's protagonists without needing to fill the "villain" archetype.

@donbarracuda546

3 ай бұрын

Perfect comment! It's not her story, so regardless of where people stand on the morality of the methods employed by the actual protagonist, as well as supporting parties, her character poses the greatest threat to the operation and the goal of the protagonist.

Shane Bertram: Kate is willing to have innocent people die just because she's unwilling to adopt unethical methods _Batman has entered the chat_

@AnIllusiveFlorentine

2 жыл бұрын

Which is a problematic take when you have war criminals like Edward Gallagher, soldiers who believe that they can operate outside the law in order for a greater good. This video inherently promotes a worldview where soldiers are not to be held accountable for their actions because they, not their civilian oversight actually know what needs to be done on the ground. But in reality what did Brolins team accomplish in the long run, the assassination of one drug lord will lead to more violence and countless death of Innocents in the power vacuum. We are supposed to empathize with Kate's perspective that believes what is going on is wrong, because it is wrong! The whole operation was morally dubious and even moreso legally. People like Graver and her FBI boss are the ones making the situation worse because in a path towards ridding the cartels and their violence, they commit the same injustices so that makes them hypocrites as well.

@samsonjavati9622

2 жыл бұрын

I absolutely agree with this

@lucasgrey9794

2 жыл бұрын

There is NO SUCH THING as "innocent people".

@Nickademas1

2 жыл бұрын

@@lucasgrey9794 then you've just crossed a realm that is untenable. Innocence does exist what kind of fucked up take is that?..

@artingevondyan1613

2 жыл бұрын

@Music Channel, I Guess it may seem like they have achieved nothing but thats only because the Cartel literally runs that country aka you are at war with the country of Mexico without declaring official war. If it was an official war and our military was sent in to exterminate the Cartel you bet your ass the drug problem would lessen but thats not what the heads of these agencies want at the end of the day. They make money off this trade just as much as the Cartel and I guarantee the Cartel only views these small squads stirring shit up as another hindrance rather than a threat.

After watching this, I can imagine that if the story focused on Alejandro and not Kate the entire time, this would feel more like a buddy cop revenge film where Kate's character would be that stickler type always trying to roadblock the maverick protagonist with rules and regulations. If anything, it's the perspective Sicario takes that makes it a brilliant study on the morality of extrajudicial tactics and how the problem with the war on drugs is the us policies that perpetuate it further. Otherwise when you really think about it, Sicario's plot isn't much different to an 80s-90s action flick.

@byakugan2173

4 жыл бұрын

If the movie wasn't from her perspective it would be plainly obvious she is a villain

@sogerc1

3 жыл бұрын

@@byakugan2173 I hope we will never have to see how your perspective would change if one of those cops would murder your husband because he had a hunch that your husband was a "bad guy".

@vza7938

3 жыл бұрын

@Mister Ious lol..what a shitty way...so, a man'snot free to intake what he wills? no wonder pinoys just play games and take them way too serious

@filmmoviePRODUCTIONS

3 жыл бұрын

I was thinking the same thing, most of the tension comes from her learning what they're up to while they smirk and walk off. All this needed was some 'Narcos' type music and it'd be a pretty standard netflix original with excellent cinematography.

@gelmibson883

3 жыл бұрын

Great take

Kate is not the villain, she is the spectator. Fausto is the villain and Alejandro is the hero/protagonist.

@garad123456

3 ай бұрын

Alejandro isn't a hero he will even kill innocent bystanders in order to fulfill his revenge fantasy. If you see him as a hero that tells more about you than the film

@Kyle_00

2 ай бұрын

I never saw Alejandro as a hero, in my opinion. Just as a nearly broken man. This movie is super morally ambiguous.

@PussyBateman

2 ай бұрын

@@Kyle_00he killed 2 children in the end. Not very heroic

@jeremybrown9611

2 ай бұрын

@@Kyle_00 No he's all of that and the Protagonist of this film. The script makes it clearer but the Director thought the opposite would have a better effect on the film and he was damn right.

Dude, there are neither heroes nor villains in that movie. But as the protagonist Kate is representing the average person, living after a broadly common morale, opening for us the window into a world with completely different set of ethics.

@maui_lou

5 ай бұрын

Indeed, it's funny how people are romanticizing Alejandro, lots seem to think they would be as 'badass' as him in this environment and that he's your unconventional good guy. But Alejandro isn't really accomplishing anything more than using tools at his disposable to get his revenge. It just so happens that doing so, it nudges the situation that seems favorable for the government by mutual interest. Never is it really revealed that his intentions are to end/tame the drug war or for the greater good. And more than the average person, Kate actually represent the viewer imo, we mainly discover the story and world of Sicario through her eyes.

very interesting. I think she also represents the ever looming opinion of the American public that wants results without the willingness to do what is required to achieve them, and judgement over those who do. Her lens is tinted by the 'good guy' image in Hollywood media and her perspective is removed from the reality of the situation.

@akneegrow6152

2 жыл бұрын

I strongly agree.

@Splyt057

2 жыл бұрын

Wow

@DemothHymside

2 жыл бұрын

Except the problem is that she's also expressing concern about giving too much unchecked power that has almost no accountability. People will scream and cry about government corruption, but then cheer on these same people playing fast and loose with assassinations and meddling with underworld power structures. Like, they wanted to give the Columbian cartels the power because they were considered easier to control.... so what happens when they suddenly aren't easy to control and another Pablo Escobar situation happens?

@akneegrow6152

2 жыл бұрын

@@DemothHymside Which is unreasonable considering nobody involved is involved with any underground syndicate of any sort. Alejandro doesn't want to start his own cartel, he just wants to kill the guys that murdered his family. Kate was just out of her league and way over her head, a sheep in a land of wolves.

@DemothHymside

2 жыл бұрын

@@akneegrow6152 , yeah, and in the second film we see that their actions did jack shit but allow others to fill that power vacuum and continue terrorizing everything.

It's about her being a police woman in a military operation. Soldiers and police have different mindsets, and different missions. She was along for the ride to add a certain legitimacy, ended up being bewildered.

@richardsellsaz6865

5 жыл бұрын

There was no American military in the movie.those are CIA operatives in the BDU's

@jordanmckoy5277

5 жыл бұрын

They had delta force with them too.

@bipedalhominid6815

5 жыл бұрын

Richard Lopez lol they literally say delta like 100 times. Even put subtittles on and when they speak it says "delta operator:"

@richardsellsaz6865

5 жыл бұрын

Delta doesn't fight cartels.Those are CIA operatives in real life.'Delta" could refer to the team like "Alpha" and "Bravo" team

@bipedalhominid6815

5 жыл бұрын

Richard Lopez delta does whatever they are tasked to do.. we even send regular infantry troops to south America to bust up cartels. Why would delta be exempt? Maybe you are unfamiliar with the dynamics and spectrum of Joint Operations.

You just scratched that itch I couldn't.Thankyou my friend for deciphering it.

She’s not the villain, she’s supposed to represent us, the viewer. We have a vague idea of right and wrong that we automatically project beyond ourselves despite having little real knowledge of the subject at hand. Because of ego, ours and hers, we are resistant to change even when our point of view is repeatedly shown to be wrong or misguided. The movie is a letter to the audience that let’s us know that we have no idea what the fuck we are talking about and that THIS is the world as it truly is. Instead of breaking the fourth wall and turning the film into a brutalist version of 24 Hour Party People they give us Blunt’s character to judge ruthlessly instead of having to admit we’re the ones that are misinformed on the subject at hand

@noir_7217

2 жыл бұрын

Interesting. I like your point of view.

@thrawncaedusl717

2 жыл бұрын

She is literally a ride-along character…

@darknesscomesforallofus4632

2 жыл бұрын

minus the first four words... you nailed the meta-analysis.

@aaronreed4931

2 жыл бұрын

I like your perspective, I would also like to add my opinion.. this movie helps illustrate how subjective right and wrong is, and how if you simplify any complex issue like "the drug war" or "the war on terror" into a battle between good and evil, then maybe you should take a good hard look in the mirror and realize maybe you are the evil one. Or maybe it's all evil and everything is icky and you are being used.. see also american sniper. If you took time out of your day to read the opinion of some random stranger on the internet (me) thank you for your time

@billyccall5774

2 жыл бұрын

But aren't we the villians?

Chronicles of Riddick said it best: In normal times, evil would be fought by good. But in times like these, well, it should be fought by another kind of evil.

@petrbouda1741

3 жыл бұрын

Jesus fucking Christ, citing a train wreck of a movie that Chronicles of Riddick is...

@jrmemnoch7650

2 жыл бұрын

Good reference bro

@seanimac7759

2 жыл бұрын

Yeah. Tell your mother I want the meatloaf.

@paolovallejo8022

2 жыл бұрын

and you think, nobody thought of that before that so called movie? read some books mate

@stevent2049

2 жыл бұрын

@@paolovallejo8022 Aw Pablo is maddo

Sure we all know Sicario is a Masterpiece.. and I like that.

Kate is not the opposite of Alejandro, she represents what he used to be as a prosecutor, so more of a mirror of contrast not as an antagonist but as measuring stick to see how far Alejandro has changed, or his arc from good man to evil. The last scene shows how Alejandro’s actions actually do little to eliminate the cartels in Mexico.

Man... great video of a great movie. Also whats the background music? It's excellent.

There's a lot of good observations here about her character, but I think that classifying her as a "villain" misses the point of the film and her character arch. First off, the film exists in a moral gray area so terms like "heroes" and "villains" can't really be applied. The characters can only be classified as protagonist and antagonist, both of those terms refer to their function in the story and not necessarily their moral standing. On the surface the movie is about US drug enforcement agents vs. cartels, but really the cartels exist in the film's background. They're just there to inform the setting and provide a sense of danger. None of the cartel members (except Silvio, the police officer working with the cartel) are fleshed out characters. That's because at it's core the film is actually about the battle of morality between Kate and Matt/Alejandro (but I think we all knew that). I disagree with the assertion that Alejandro can be the protagonist because he has no character arch. Any change his character went through happened off-screen before the start of the film. So functionally him and Matt are both foils (and thus antagonists) to Kate. If we were to apply a moral standing to them, they'd be anti-heroes at best. Kate is in fact the protagonist because she's the only character that has an arch within the story. Her story arch is complete in the final scene when she signs the documents and points her gun at Alejandro. When she signs the documents legitimizing the operation, she did so under duress because Alejandro had a gun to her head. Her lowering her gun at him later is her making a choice to accept of his methods and let go of her naïveté as well. That's the significance of that scene. TL;DR: Kate's not a villain because the film exists in a morally bleak setting where heroes and villain don't really exist and she eventually accepts Alejandro's methods at the end anyway.

@dvizionfilmz

5 жыл бұрын

Thank you, I loved the video, because I like to study different opinions, but your angle makes the most sense to me, alongside with Chris Pham's. What's absolutely amazing though -- how the "hero" with the story arch and all affects absolutely nothing, while those, who has no arch do all the job and actually accomplish things. To me personally this looks like a great case in point of archs being largely misused in modern filmmaking, when they're seen as structure tools instead of purely organic companions of hero's journey.

@streampunksheep

5 жыл бұрын

It is sad to say, that not everyone is getting the point.

@streampunksheep

5 жыл бұрын

Thank you for adding sense to this video. The fact that they equate cool action hero as protagonist is driving me insane.

@mcindoet

5 жыл бұрын

I enjoyed your perspective, but may I add mine. I thought she in the last scene, felt several emotions. one, she remembered he save her life. two, killing him would not be "going by the book" and she would be held accountable in her concept of the "rule of law".. and three she accepted his methods finally as neccessary. Alejandro turned and faced her believing her naivete(not being a wolf) would not allow her to pull the trigger. It is nice to see a movie that incites these many responses, instead of movies put together by computers, unrealistic characters jumping from skyscrapers, and 100 pound ladies, beating up five 250 pound men, for a change.

@JDarkley

5 жыл бұрын

Thomas McIndoe, you're right, there's definitely a lot of ambiguity and mixed emotions in that scene. I think that ambiguity is one of the film's biggest strengths. It doesn't really take a side in the conflict between Kate and Alejandro and acknowledges both of their perspectives as valid on some level.

This is why Sicario is such a great movie. Several different, debatable interpretations are possible.

You're truly gifted Shane. Hope you come back.

This is an absolutely brilliant movie and your character analysis has provoked an even deeper understanding of the players involved. Thank you for your invaluable insight.

"Villain" is a stretch. She is fundamentally a good person and that's what puts her at odds with the others. She's trying to force a line between good and evil on to a brutal reality that will not comply, and is unwilling to make the internal moral compromise that Matt and Alejandro have made. It's like "No Russian" from MW2, where the CO tells the undercover agent "It will cost you a piece of yourself". You can't blame her if that's a piece she does not want to part with. You can't blame Matt and Alejandro for making the choice they did. They movie intentionally ends leaving us feel uncomfortable, and ultimately nothing is resolved, because that eternal question "do the ends justify the means?" will itself never be definitively resolved.

@Maelstrom8

2 жыл бұрын

Beautiful analysis. Kate definitely is NOT the villain. Most everybody other than Kate and her partner operate in the gray area. That's what makes this movie so interesting. Good and evil are too simple to define the folks fighting this war. Perspective is everything in this movie.

@deancarr4507

2 жыл бұрын

She's an accidental villain. She got herself into a career she wasn't cut out for. Like at the end when Alejandro tells her to go be a small town cop.

@TheCompleteGuitarist

2 жыл бұрын

She's weak and nice and that makes her a danger. She has no control over her desired outcomes and that makes her without agency and therefore either redundant or ... more of a danger than useful or helpful. God said the meek shall inherit the earth. The original meaning of the word meek reads thus ... he who knows how to handle or use his weapon but keeps it sheathed and ready. The strong will inherit, the determined, those who know what needs to get done and have that as a goal, not, doing it by the book.

@OmegaF77

2 жыл бұрын

@@TheCompleteGuitarist She's definitely not week she's HRT, which is like DEVGRU for police. And she is definitely meek, meaning she has discipline to do things by the book and not be brash. The problem is, in the movie she is always being thrown in situations where you must go outside the book, even a little and she seems to falter there.

@ethanweeter2732

2 жыл бұрын

I think Matt, much like Thanos, did not care. Alejandro had his own reasons for murdering cartel members.

Surprise Antagonist: yes. Moral counter-compass: perhaps. Villain: that's a stretch. But a very interesting take, well done.

@valentinpons9191

3 жыл бұрын

i don't know if u can categorize her as the villain per se, but hear me out. when u read marx's communist books, every thing seems great, it should work perfectly, but when u take it to the practice in countries like cuba or venezuela, it doesnt work, because pragmatically is impossible. is the same as Kate, she wants to go by the book, but she is so far out of reality, that she doesnt know that pragmatically her ways are not going to work. is she naive? yes. is she the villain? I dont know, but we know for sure that her ways are not going to work, the same as the ways of the left won't work in the world.

@aztecfighter5

3 жыл бұрын

My take is that she is needed hence we become mexico by allowing us to go too far i love this country and its checks and balances

@mikel27180

3 жыл бұрын

Cope

@BigDaddyDax

3 жыл бұрын

She may not have been an intentional villian but a villain none the less. She was more interested in ending the joint taskforce than bringing down the cartel. She is Batman and the cartel is her Joker.

@BigDaddyDax

3 жыл бұрын

@Simon Cowell..... badass hero for the cartel

I enjoyed your narrative, well written and nicely performed 👌

and now i have to rewatch the movie and change everything i thought i knew about it. thanks, i really bounced off this thing the first go round.

The film is demonstrating how there can be no good solutions in the war on drugs (it the underlying policy that is the issue). The approach of every character is flawed because there is no moral solution, as Kate looking for one clearly shows.

@SOak145

4 жыл бұрын

It amazes me that people in the US still seem to believe that the war on drugs is winnable.

@ekerson

4 жыл бұрын

@@SOak145 Its winning for those in charge on both sides of the boarder. As long as the cartels and corrupt US politicians keep getting rich, nothing will change. This "war" is making people too much money to ever stop.

@eriscyl

4 жыл бұрын

stu9000 When you say there’s no moral solution, not only do I understand that you don’t know what morality is, but you also resemble Kate as described in this very video.

@smokeralots7284

4 жыл бұрын

BULLSHIT SHES THE VILLAIN BECAUSE SHES A SNITCH!

@LtBrown1956

4 жыл бұрын

@@smokeralots7284 damned right

Everyone keeps saying that Matt/Alejandro's methods were "effective", but that is not the impression I got. If you recall, at the end of the film, it shows the little boy from the beginning at one of his soccer games. While they are playing, gunshots are heard not so far away. The players stop for a moment and the parents all look over in the direction of the gunshots, but then quickly pick up where they left off. This shows that the cartels/violence is still a problem (nothing has changed). Killing the kingpin was cathartic (maybe, probably not though) for Alejandro, but it did virtually nothing to stop the drug war. It's like a hydra. When you kill one, others are waiting to pop up and take his place. Hence the new movie. Someone else filled the void and the gov/military is no closer to ending the drug war than they were in the first movie.

@mon_nobi

5 жыл бұрын

They were effective once you were realize their goals were never to end the drug war in the first place. There is no good or evil in this, only mutual interests, players and pawns, supply and demand, and shades of gray. Matt is a player. Alejandro realized to meet his new goals (revenge) he had to evolve from pawn to player. Matt and the CIA recognize that this player has a mutual interest in taking down Alarcon, Matt to rebalance order in the CIAs favor, and Alejandro to seek revenge against his family's murderer (and also take out the competition for the Medellin cartel). Kate was a pawn, mostly there due to the rules of CIA missions on foreign soil, since US rightfully places laws around how the govt can claim plausible deniability, but those laws are mostly for show as they still need to get the job done (hence why she signed the paper but only at gunpoint). Overall, the movie showed the gray area of fighting this war on drugs, and the total hopelessness of trying to win it. There is no end, no magic bullet, no final boss, even if you take out whole families at once to avoid vengeance seekers, there will be another one to take their place, yes like a hydra. Why? Because supply and demand. Many ppl in the US have a desire to purchase illicit drugs. If its illegal, ppl will still get it by nearby sources who make it available. Until 20% of the US population kicks the habit, there will always be a demand for it which black market entrepreneurs will fill. The US govt recognizes this and allows what needs to be done not really to win the war, but only to maintain balance in their favor. No heroes, no villains. Only shades of gray.

@Matti_us_Alpe

5 жыл бұрын

Keeping cartel fighting with each other makes them less focussed on the border, makes them nervous, more prone to make errors on which the justice department waits...

@chadford8500

5 жыл бұрын

Their goal wasnt to end the cartel, the goal is to get the cartels to go to war and kill each other off until their is only one cartel. Like Matt said "Meddellin refers to a time when their was one Cartel controlling everything which provided a level that they, the CIA, could control." In other words, when their are multiple cartels out there the CIA had no control over all of them, but One cartel controlling everything is easier for our law enforcement and government to deal with.

@SuperP37

5 жыл бұрын

the cia was just putting down their own dog

@seanoneil277

2 жыл бұрын

The more open-minded viewer will note several issues in the movie Sicario. (1) Langley runs amok in any theatre/sphere it chooses. (2) Langley prefers to create issues that must be solved by military intervention. (3) The military intervention (under uniform cover, or via "private security contractors," doesn't matter really) never solves the problem that Langley proclaims it's trying to solve. (4) Langley is a Charlie Foxtrot. The viewer should not see Langley as "effective," only different from the policy-wonk nonsense that the Kate Macer character believes in so strongly.

From the Director about this movie : "As a kid, I [noticed] the headlines of newspapers are the same, all the time. There’s a feeling of repetition. Repetition is hell. How can we get out of those cycles of violence? How come we are still today talking about peace in Israel? How come we’re not able to find a solution yet? Something that will bring peace in this part of the world? It’s the same in a lot of places in the world right now. How come we are not able to find peace? Violence will just create violence and more and more violence. It’s something that as a society and as countries and as human beings we all reproduce. It’s so tough to evolve and to become adult as societies. It’s a topic that I think is very inspiring. Most movies, revenge seems like something that brings a kind of pleasure - a kind of satisfaction and something that has a power to solve problems. I don’t think so. So I like to explore revenge in a different way. "

Can't get behind this take at all. The twist of this film isn't that she's the villain and not the hero. It's that Alejandro is the protagonist, and she (we) just thinks she's the protagonist, and is actually a powerless observer. A representative of the law refusing to resort to trickery, murder, and mayhem to achieve their goals is not a villain, not by any stretch of the imagination. What Kate runs into is the fact that her way of doing things---legally, above board, and beyond reproach---is not working. It's not that she's ignoring getting results in favor of "her" way of doing things. She is operating within what she has been taught is the letter of the law. Moreover, she's lied to (certainly and at least by omission) about what the task force is really doing. At the end of the day, all Kate is guilty of is refusing to sink to the level of the true villains---that is, picking lethal fights ("dramatically overreacting"), torturing prisoners, and turning loose a noncitizen assassin to murder the villain (and his entire family, including children)---to get some results. Results that in no way brings peace or saves lives on either side of the border, not really. It just ostensibly makes the situation slightly more manageable on the US side of the equation. This is exactly why Alejandro's last words are to admonish Kate to go somewhere far from the border, some small town where the rule of law still exists---someplace her ideals can still be practiced and result in justice.

@PussyBateman

2 ай бұрын

You should make a video. This is 100% accurate unlike whatever I just wasted time watching.

Sicario really captures how dark those battles can be and I LOVE it. A lot of your typical hollywood movies would have the same plot but instead, no civilians are harmed, it's just straight up good guys v bad guys. Sicario shows that sacrifices need to be made, lines must be crossed, and rules gotta be broken. Probably one of the best movies out there that can truly show you that and make you believe that it's for the greater good. If anyone has any movie suggestions that are similar, I'd love to watch them.

"it's clear she puts the importance of her own disconnected ideals above... most importantly, innocent lives" bro earlier you said alejandro is the protagonist, the guy who murders two kids and their mom

@Nick-jy4zf

2 жыл бұрын

the antagonist of the film isn't even subtext. what do you think the "who do you think we learned it from?" line is about? the CIA spooks like Matt who hire Alejandro and take advantage of Kate's naivete to allow them to perform legal clandestine domestic operations are the ones who started and continue to escalate the violence.

@xavianbraams4614

Жыл бұрын

He is the protagonist myguy shit had to get done he let them kids live know they want to b in charge he did the absolute right thing but your ideology want let you see why

@Nick-jy4zf

Жыл бұрын

@@xavianbraams4614 i mean i guess my ideology of "children should not be murdered" may be getting in the way of seeing Alejandro as the the good guy here yeah

@xavianbraams4614

Жыл бұрын

@@Nick-jy4zf I feel like as the protagonist of the movie he absolutely made the right decision to kill them kids and the wife shit you ask me the made to but in a serious not In that life every stone must b flipped and Checked

@grahamparr3933

Жыл бұрын

Obviously the wife knew what was going down, also the two buys would have joined the family business, prevention is better the cure.

I may have posted this before but I just love your video. I watched the movie several times before seeing your video. I am into mbti and Dr. John Beebe. It could be that Kate is the Fi Anima, that is striking out against Te Matt. Alejandro is the opposing personality, Ti. I am guessing that Taylor Sheridan is an ENTJ. Each of us has an internal source of anxiety. For Taylor, his analytical associations conflict with thinking about what is good. Just a guess. I haven't typed you.

@pumitriii6160

2 ай бұрын

um, what?

Bro could you tell me the music playing in the background of the video(which was great btw)

"He who fights with monsters should be careful lest he thereby become a monster." I think that's why Kate was so fixated on doing things "by the book".

@CB-vt3mx

2 жыл бұрын

nope. Kate represents a type of person employed by the government at every level who is stupefied by the failure of the status quo but will never give it up. For Kate, the status quo provides her a job, status, authority, and power. She is only interested in those things. She is willing to sacrifice as many peasants as necessary to retain those perks and will do nothing at all, ever, to jeopardize them. In this way she is no different than a gulag guard, concentration camp commander, or any of the thousands of American and Mexican Federales who would sacrifice the world for power, authority, and status. She is a reminder that at least half of the problem is our own fixation on the rewards we are seeking and the price we are willing to allow others to pay for them. In the end, she is no different than a CIA agent smuggling cocaine in to fund a war in Nicaragua, or Afghanistan. I worked with people like this for 30 years in the Army. They literally run everything.

@grimmblade

2 жыл бұрын

"You become a monster so the monster will not break you" ; Bono

@MrBubbaSkeeter

2 жыл бұрын

​@@CB-vt3mx Ok

@lbcguy8723

2 жыл бұрын

@@CB-vt3mx ROFL

@dab0331

2 жыл бұрын

You HAVE to be a monster to fight one. A dog with fangs and a wolf's blood on its mouth looks the same as a wolf to a sheep. "The road to hell is paved with good intentions". Being naively "good" will get good people killed.

This is, indeed, an interesting perspective. Although, I think it’s a more narrowly tailored point of view which misses the overall themes of the movie. She’s not the villain. She’s also not the hero. There aren’t heros in this movie. Only a common enemy, the cartel, our villain. The movie’s central theme seems to ask, and leave open, the question of weather or not the ends justify the means. These questions are posed when Alejandro kills the cop and, later, the cartel leader’s wife and children. In doing these things, have they become the very thing they were sent to destroy? While maintaining the status quo is the most likely alternative, becoming your enemy doesn’t eradicate the problem, it simply shifts the players.

@ilijaknezevic8370

2 жыл бұрын

Nice

@JohnDoe-wt9ek

2 жыл бұрын

You don't destroy your foes by being morally superior. You destroy your enemies, scorch their legacy, and dismantle their entire organization piece by piece, and send a message that any other who does likewise will face the same fate. Its what we did with the Nazis, so why is it now a fucking problem?

@oceanicastronaut2830

2 жыл бұрын

The groups smuggling drugs, firearms and human slaves into other countries are objectively evil and those that fight against them are objectively good. This movie isnt about such childish notions as "do the ends justify the means?", the movie is asking if you as the audience have the courage and moral fortitude to do what is necessary to eradicate evil. You cannot fight hardend, organised cartels with good intentions and court orders from legal entities they dont recognise.

@danblack5402

2 жыл бұрын

@@oceanicastronaut2830 - I never implied that the cartels were acting in a way other than evil. Indeed, their trade is evil, and the actions they take to continue their trade are likewise evil. What to do about it is the question. How do good people prevent the continuation of that evil? Is it doing evil to eradicate evil? If that’s your position, then should some other body enact evil to likewise eradicate the “hero’s”? Consider what the end goal of the “heros” was in this movie. It wasn’t to stop the import of illegal drugs into the U.S. it was to centralize the drug trade into the hands of another cartel in Columbia so they could more easily regulate the volume of illegal drug imports. Then what can be done? Well, American politicians can and should confront their counterparts in Mexico, Columbia etc. threaten them with sanctions, tariffs and other economic reprisals if they don’t actively work to thwart the efforts of the cartels in their own countries. These politicians could even offer assistance; weapons, training and military assets such as those depicted in the movie. If imposing these sanctions etc. is ineffective, and the governments of Mexico and Columbia decline to help eliminate the problem, the U.S. still has a number of additional approaches it can enact, such as militarizing the southern border and only engaging where there’s threat of passage into the U.S. or when engaged. Another option to consider is legalizing these drugs and producing them domestically. Are you starting to see my point?

@ryanhorvath1308

2 жыл бұрын

@@oceanicastronaut2830 you have no clue as to who the actual evil people are. The cartels and their minions are mere pawns of the actual masters in the war on drugs.

Kate does not come off as HRT leader material. That is the main problem. How did she get this assignment with the level of naivete she shows? She is a protagonist but is just bit mentally ready to be on the front lines and philosophically is a complete mess. She isn't an antagonist she is just conflicted in her approach and it does not jive well with the other men who are clear in their purpose and objective. At the end of the day the status quo remains so it was and continues to be pointless.

Loved it. Thank you!

"Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster". This quote sums up the movie pretty well with its constant question of morals and values. Kate may be naive and "in a land of wolves " but she is definetly not a villain.

@mikejunior211

3 жыл бұрын

Villain implies intent...She does not want to be the villain...However she ends up being a liability....She is no wolf...in a land of wolves.

@pmadood6970

3 жыл бұрын

A villain can be someone who thinks they're doing the "right" thing but get a lot of people killed, that's what he's saying.

@modernviking6436

2 жыл бұрын

Just dangerously naive. Just because you're not actively doing wrong, doesn't mean that you can do no wrong. Plenty of bad shit in the world has been done with the best of intentions.

@blaizerhodes

2 жыл бұрын

There's a saying .. "Those who play with the devils toys, come by degrees to wield his sword". In short, the question being asked is "Do the ends justify the means?". One response to this is that if you adopt sufficiently harsh tactics against the drug lords are you any better than them? You can fight against them ineffectually according to the rules and fail, or you can oppose them using any tactics you wish and fail because you are now no better than them.

@modernviking6436

2 жыл бұрын

@@blaizerhodes I have always found that argument to be stupid af. "Now you're no better than your enemy"; you're already no better than your enemy for fighting them in the first place. There is no sense in being stupid & ignoring useful but dIsHonOrAbLe tactics that might help you win, (talking to you, Ned Stark).

Good video, and I enjoyed your perspective on it.

@nzgamelife323

4 жыл бұрын

This movie should be called liability and just have a pic of blunts face.

@antonioangel9186

4 жыл бұрын

A war that’s been lost . They do what they do the way they do because it makes no difference what they do or the way they do it

I think perhaps you missed a big part of the movie which is that the entire operation is illegal. It's in violation of both U.S. and international law. The point of having the higher-ups sign off on it isn't to show that it's actually all above board, it's to make a point about how willing people in power are to disregard the law if their goals are achieved. Kate's entire character is about her struggling with the fact that what they're doing is not legal, but questioning if it might be the only thing that actually works. And honestly I think that in missing this, you missed the entire point of the movie. The movie is (in part) asking, "If we have to become like the Cartel to fight them, how are we better?" That's the point of Alejandro, he's a lawyer and a family man who becomes a ruthless murderer. Arguably no better than the people he's fighting against. Kate isn't personally against the methods used bc she's just a sensitive softy lady. She actually believes in the laws and the justice system, and she doesn't want to see herself as becoming like the criminals she came there to stop. In short: She thinks she's fighting *for* something, contrasted against the rest of the characters who are fighting *against* something.

@BobHooker

3 ай бұрын

I agree but think it even goes deeper. If the movie just wanted to tell us that we should not become evil in fighting evil it would be kind of boring. Actually we are evil. We go to movies to see sadistic violence because we enjoy it. We watch a movie like this because it is fun for us to see all the killing and I really doubt anyone quit drugs after seeing this movie. If the audience was moral they would see this movie and think 'damn if we all stopped doing drugs there would be no cartels, that is the only way to stop it' And yet the film was a hit, it is many people's favorite movie, and the drug problem just gets worse and worse.

the whole point of sicario, it ends where it starts the final scene is the football game not even getting interrupted by the shooting, everyone just keeps playing nobody won, nobody "gets the vibe that they're winning" the book is geneva convention and i believe some fbi/police rules and laws, if they did everything by the book, benicio's character wouldn't put a gun to her had making her sign the papers there's no hero and no villain, and if the protagonist is obvious, i'm not sure if there is a main antagonist and if there is it's definitely not kate

I don't think Kate was the villain. Her issue was she was an idealist in a non-idealist world.

@mfc9328

5 жыл бұрын

Also she’s guilty of self riotousness

@theartemisgland

5 жыл бұрын

Idealists are not realists.

@Frijolero18

5 жыл бұрын

Mizanur Hussain >self riotousness ... I can't

@dannycurtis2591

5 жыл бұрын

Frijolero18, Mizanur Hussain. Rightousness. If you're going to be here, at least learn the language.

@mfc9328

5 жыл бұрын

Frijolero18 hahahaha sorry I was high at the time, I only comment on shit when I’m high and bored

Kate isn't the villain, Kate is the audience. Kate is the American public who would react in a similar way to learning about Matt's strategy. In the end she is ultimately broken.

@jacobstaten2366

5 жыл бұрын

meansartin aren't we the bad guys then for thinking drugs are okay, but not taking steps to legalize them? If it were legal, the FDA and legitimate South American businesses could get involved.

@thewhiterise5094

5 жыл бұрын

"Legalizing drugs" won't stop shit - eventually the drugs that are put on the open market place won't be enough for people, they'll want stronger highs as addiction rises. You can ALREADY GET drugs legally,, and those drugs will get you similar highs and because of this, addiction to prescription drugs especially among upper white women is high and many die from the result. All that will happen is the drugs that are put on the black market will be a far better product than the ones businesses in the US are allowed to fund and put out It's an incredibly black and white viewpoint that legalizing drugs will stop the drug war.

@jacobstaten2366

5 жыл бұрын

The White Rise you can get drugs, but you have to jump through hoops or fit very narrow criteria to get them. Crime went up during prohibition because making something illegal that shouldn't be means you have to go through career criminals to get it. A false increase in value also occurs because of the risk associated with getting it. We have legalized alcohol, and there is still a black market, but it's tiny and nonviolent. You are never going to get rid of the black market. If someone commits a crime while high or to get drugs, they should be charged for the crime and not the drugs as there are many people who can use drugs without resorting to crime. Like alcohol, if you need more of a high, you can just consume more, but it should be your responsibility alone to regulate. A lot of people who don't deserve to be in prison would be released and/or avoid arrest in the first place. Crime would definitely go down.

@thewhiterise5094

5 жыл бұрын

Drugs are far more diverse and addicting than alcohol. Your comparison is bad.... And while there is STRONGER alcohol, it's not as addictive as experimental drugs. So, where do you put the line when we legalize drugs? Do you give a pharmacy far more leeway to put whatever they want out there? There is a good argument that they ALREADY have too much pull and put out some harmful shit to the public, as I mentioned, it's not like upper class white women are doing too well with drugs.... So you put a line on what you can do with drugs and put out there on the open market - as I said before, when it comes to hard drugs, people will want to up their high especially when their addiction manifests. We can talk about recreational drugs, sure. We can talk about how people who do drugs shouldn't have harsh punishments - but pretending legalizing some drugs would destroy the cartel is absolutely naive. The Cartel would still be pushing the best product when it comes to hard drugs and people with addictions will not be satisfied with the lowly drugs that are 20 years out of date that a pharmacy is pushing. Read this for other facts on this - it's always been a ridiculous notion. foreignpolicy.com/2011/06/22/legalizing-drugs-wont-stop-mexicos-brutal-cartels/

@meansartin

5 жыл бұрын

Jacob Staten Crime was up during prohibition, but it never went away. The Mafia didn't hang it up in 1933

In substance you're right about everything you say about her character, but calling her "the villain" demonstrate a certain bias and somehow an misunderstanding of cinema and storytelling in general. You seem to be one of those people who wrongly think that the protagonist (or even the "hero") have to be the character you like or empathize with.

Love movies with morally ambiguous characters. Denis Villeneuve seems to be a master at it, both Sicario and Prisoners absolute masterpieces in that regard

Also, there is a bit of this in Better Call Saul. Saul is always trying to do good, just not in a good way. Conversely his brother is always "by the book" but somehow is an asshole. His brother is doing evil under the guise of morality.

@slappy8941

4 жыл бұрын

Doing evil under the guise of morality is the preferred modus operandi of assholed and scumbags throughout history.

@violent_bebop9687

3 жыл бұрын

Throw in straw dogs , w/ Hoffman...!

@jandcstopmotion7774

3 жыл бұрын

It’s really not fair to say that chuck is “evil”. Just like it’s kind of naive to say that Emily Blunt is a “villain” in Sicario. She is supposed to be the moral compass of the film, even if her methods are not working.

@rokhpaperscissors1349

2 жыл бұрын

@@jandcstopmotion7774 Chuck is absolutely evil though. Emily Blunt's character in Sicario is much closer to a genuine idealist. Chuck is a thin-skinned hypocrite with no conviction, his "ideals" are concrete only to the extent that he can define goalposts to continually move so that from his perspective Jimmy is always bad, stupid, and unworthy of being a lawyer and Chuck is always good, correct, and worthy of it. He's a spineless, dogshit hypocrite with absolutely not a shred of meaningful conviction and he gets the ending he deserves. Not that Jimmy is necessarily a "good guy" but Chuck is scum, the fact that his ideals are wholly a facade becomes immediately obvious every single time Jimmy tries to better himself. If Chuck had even the thinnest shred of integrity he'd support his brother, but he cares more about being above Jimmy than literally anything else. I understand that the presentation of Chuck's end is intended to be sympathetic, but I had zero sympathy for him.

@Sara-bk3yi

2 жыл бұрын

his brother is absolutely not evil, are you serious? the only reason he comes off as an asshole is because he knows exactly what kind of person his brother is. Did you forget that literally every single accusation he made was true?

Seems like you really missed the point of the whole movie. Its not her "personal" rules, its the code of ethics followed by someone acting in U.S. jurisdiction. She's FBI remember, but she gets thrown into a conflict beyond the U.S. where rules are rendered ineffective - mostly due to the corruption & influence of the cartels. Her point of view is what makes the film so much more effective, constant violence is not the norm for most of us. How do you apply the rule of law in a place where violence is so pervasive that children hardly pause a game of football while bullets go off in the distance?

@average_psyop_enjoyer

4 жыл бұрын

Shes a karen to sum it all up

@ianmccarty3903

4 жыл бұрын

Glad to see someone else got it too

@hiranom20

4 жыл бұрын

@@average_psyop_enjoyer Lol it was so satisfying when Matt (Josh Brolin) went all combatives on her ass when she came out the tunnel and decked him. Such an annoying character 🤣

@teahousereloaded

4 жыл бұрын

Thank you hellhound. The war on drugs is as pointless as the prohibition and will eventually end the same way. The market takes care of the demand just as it should supplying the cartels with endless amounts of cash. Emily Blunts character sticks to her moral code, like a true western hero and is lost in this new world of endless escalation. What does killing the drug lord accomplish? The power between the cartels will shift, but that's it.

@esotericgrave3129

4 жыл бұрын

She is given the opportunity to make a difference. She is given explicit permission to exercise those opportunities. She refuses to make a difference. She is close minded and refuses to see the reality as it is presented to her. Anyone else in her position would see the grey and reorient the way she looks at the war. But she doesn't, she blindly follows what she was told in a by gone era. She is the representation of the US public. The public mentality doesn't change easily, she's there to show why there is so much held back from public. Whether it's right or wrong makes no difference when you have such a justification. If they knew, they would jeopardize everything that is being worked on.

I BELIEVE YOUR ASSESSMENT OF THIS MOST GRIPPING STORY LINE IS ABSOLUTELY SPOT 💯 ON!

@PussyBateman

2 ай бұрын

Do heroes kill children intentionally with a gun to the face?

anyone know what the music is quietly playing behind this? sounds familiar, can't remember where from

She is just a puppet that has no idea wtf she's doing, that's what I saw. And she played the part well

@byakugan2173

4 жыл бұрын

She sticks to her code as it becomes more and more obvious that it doesn't serve justice. She chooses to stick to the code that she was taught, therefore washing her hands of the fallout of her actions or inactions, instead of taking making her own determinations and taking responsibility

@derek96720

3 жыл бұрын

@@byakugan2173 she's afraid of living in a grey world because it would mean she can't see herself as righteous.

@landochabod7

3 жыл бұрын

@@Sheeeit There's a quote that says "pawns are the soul of chess"...

@regularman3153

3 жыл бұрын

Puppet doesn't have will and curiousity, which clearly she have.

@seanoneil277

2 жыл бұрын

I'll bet my entire life's worth that the Kate Macer character did not require any acting from Emily Blunt. Apart from adopting an American accent, that is. Otherwise, I'd wager Emily Blunt thinks exactly as Kate Macer does about the situation portrayed and examined in Sicario.

The Cartel absolutely love people like Kate because she is so easy to predict.

She’s a weak, baby. She doesn’t realize the entire operation being approved allows her to act in a way that brings justice… But she doesn’t, she wants to do things her way, and she can’t. She’s not in control, it doesn’t seem like a moral guide at all. It just seems like an ego trip.

They really chose the most soft, unqualified, mentally and physically unprepared agent to join the task force

Talk about missing the point. The movie illustrates the impotence of conventional law enforcement when faced with the problems related to the drug trade. It poses an open question, asking if the ends justifies the means, and tries to show us how just how pervasive and nebulous the issue really is. Kate is meant to represent the somewhat naive point of view of the audience. She is the protagonist because it is her journey we are following. Whether you like her or not has nothing to do with it. Alejandro is not written to be a protagonist, nor is he a "good guy". At best, you can argue that he might be a necessary evil.

@jacobstaten2366

5 жыл бұрын

Andreas Karlsson he isn't written as a good guy archetype, but if he were a real person, many would regard him as a hero.

@thewhiterise5094

5 жыл бұрын

> many would regard him as a hero The moment it came out that he murdered children he would not be known as a hero.

@jacobstaten2366

5 жыл бұрын

The White Rise it might not come out or be disregarded as hear say. Then again, some people might see it as a necessary evil of it scares the cartels and given what they did to his family. I'm not saying I agree. However unintentionally or not, the movie kind of treats him like a revenge story protagonist like Death Wish or the Punisher. It's not told from his point of view (sort of like how Lord of the Rings isn't in Aargon's view), but it follows a lot of the same story beats. The plan of getting the cartels that will cooperate to unionize and work with the government would save lives. There are plenty of statues and stories about supposed heroes with dirty little secrets nobody talks about. Hell, Che was just as evil as Hitler, but niave college kids still wear a shirt with his picture on it.

@thewhiterise5094

5 жыл бұрын

The film treats him as a character becoming the very thing that took his family. Kate's relationship with Alejandro was that of a father and a proxy daughter, at the end of the film, he had absolutely no problem putting a gun to her head to force her into doing something he wanted, and if she didn't, he would have murdered her. This is someone who viewed her as his daughter - this tells you how far he has fallen. This is why the video is strange to me and it leaves out an incredible amount of context. The ambiguity about morality isn't with him, it's with the government - is it necessary to work with the enemy/evil to reach the end goal or should morals stay intact like with Kate's character? You should watch the film again, he is in no way close to the Punisher - the Punisher is for using brute force against villains, but he is not someone who kills innocents to get to the bad guy - there is still a moral compass there, Alejandro's character is completely devoid of that.

@jacobstaten2366

5 жыл бұрын

The White Rise he is still arguably better than the cartels in that he is only doing this because of their actions and to stop them, not for profit, and would discontinue if he reached his goal. His targets do it systemically. That's what separates him from the Punisher. He has a goal that actually might be obtainable, but would cost more morally to get there. He has the same kind of drive and origin though.

Naiveté and/or incompetence is not villainy. It may well be that Kate's actions, or inaction, may not be the most effective course to take, but that is wholly different from the willful, proactive destruction of innocent lives.

@average_psyop_enjoyer

4 жыл бұрын

point is shes the antagonist

@wolfza2630

4 жыл бұрын

What about a bumbling baffoon that triggers a catastrophic meltdown? Is that person a villain? Are we to absolve everyone just because they are naive?

@byakugan2173

4 жыл бұрын

She's a Pontius Pilate. Washing her hands of the the injustice that's taking place

@twosocks8088

3 жыл бұрын

If naivete and/or incompetence result in the death of innocents maybe it is villainy.

@superprincesssims

3 жыл бұрын

@Terror shes not stopping good things. If you look closely you see that matts plan was totally ineffective because as you might remember the last scene shows the police officers son playing football and there are again shootings in the backround. Matts methods only seem to be effective because they are loud and easy and look cool but fail to appy to our very complicated reality.

I have known plenty of people (mostly women) who are more concerned with pedantic following of procedure than effective outcome. I think it is a matter of mental laziness. And also a cover for FAILING the results. "At least I followed procedure or orders."

I wouldn't say the villain, more like the threat to the team and the entire op. A more dangerous one than the cartel. Se had a very bad attitude from the get go, she insisted on bringing her colleague that nobody wanted, she then began throwing tantrums and question every move her more experienced and battle hardened superiors make, she then wandered off in the tunnels disobeying direct orders, and finally tried to jeopardies the op and wanted to rat them out, not to mention that she almost shot Alejandro in the back after he spared her life in her own apartment.

Kate's arc fits into aspects Victoria Lynn Schmidt's "Heroine's Journey" narrative arc. Very common in heroine-centered narratives. Instead of the "Hero's Journey" with a hero who goes on an adventure and overcomes challenges, the heroine begins her journey by realizing that the world is not as it seems, that what she has been told about reality is false. I think part of what you describe about the emotional investment in characters comes from the intentional portrayal of Del Toro's and Brolin's characters as charismatic and capable; just like we expect them to be from their appearance (masculine, handsome, relaxed, self assured). The heroine often encounters these powerful male figures who make her question her own beliefs and even undermine her grip on reality. Following that archetype, Sicario only gets about halfway through the narrative, or at least skips through a few of the redemptive stages. Kate returns to her starting place, but is also in the "all is lost" stage of the story arc when the movie ends. I think that Denis Villeneuve, for all his masculinity, is very tuned into feminine power in story telling; like in Incindies, and even parts of Dune, the way he portrays Jessica.

Kate isn’t a villain. “By the book” isn’t Kate trying to follow rules. It’s Kate trying to follow the *laws* , as Kate believes that the laws also dictate what is morally right and wrong. Kate stands for justice and pure justice, and this means justice that is not obtained illegally. The entire point of the film is the moral dilemma. Kate doesn’t believe that doing things illegally is worth the justice or order it may bring. Alejandro and Matt do. There is no good guy or bad guy. The audience is made to understand everyone’s motive in this film. Kate’s struggle. Alejandro’s desire for revenge. Matt’s desire for the greater good. Silvio’s love for his family. And yes, even Alarcon’s “nothing personal” mindset, and his family. We as an audience struggle with supporting or condemning anyone in this film, because there is no hero and there is no villain.

@SuperP37

5 жыл бұрын

quite the easy way out you took. If they had done it kate's way then a lot more people would have suffered and died = kate's a villain and a magical thinking one at that

@lancemannly

4 жыл бұрын

@@SuperP37 so you would prefer cops be ok with breaking the law? The point is the war on drugs is insane and that it's existence causes everyone to become a villain.

@ohauss

4 жыл бұрын

@@SuperP37 Hilarious, coming from someone who wants to legitimize precisely that suffering and death and say that it's perfectly ok if you can just construct some kind of mental excuse - i.e. "fighting" the cartel by officially approving the very ideology at its heart. The magical thinking is on your part, I'm afraid.

@SuperP37

4 жыл бұрын

@@lancemannly so please do tell us when these killers come to your neighborhood and affect your friends, family and neighbors what would you want to happen?

@lancemannly

4 жыл бұрын

@@SuperP37 which killers? The drug dealers or the cops? Because both murdered innocent people in the movie

That's a little bit of a reach my friend, I'd say she had more of a novice attitude throughout the movie more than anything. In the end the true villain at the heart of the movie was the DEA smuggling American calibre weaponry to the Cartels to keep the balance of rampant inferiority south of the border.

She not the villain. Institutions are the villain, and the movie suggests over and over that a doctrinaire approach to these emergent societal structures like cartels and alphabet security services like the CIA, DEA, DOJ etc..Is an approach outmoded in the current state of play. A key aspect of Alejandro’s character isn’t that he WASN’T the grieving attorney known to the Sonora cartel, and he wasn’t the vengeful father Matt pitched him as. Neither label is apt, except as propaganda. What Alejandro real is is a former fixer for an older cartel that once operated in concert with American security interests. He represents a power that wasn’t under the constant threat of US intervention, and thus provided a more peaceful status quo in the region. The reason for that - never stated but directly implied - that the Medellin organization Alejandro represents was cutting Intel services in on it’s drug biz. So not only is Alejandro a harbinger of a once thriving peace trying to re-obtain, but also a revenue stream and Intel hub for US interests. That’s why Matt turned him loose: not for justice or revenge, but to make a profitable American protectorate from a country-spanning drug business. The right tool for this one very specific job could only be Alejandro, with his knowledge both in the application of violence and in the understanding of the Cartel. So I think we are supposed to look beyond the agencies and policies that Kate represents, and to the pragmatic success of Matt’s designs transcending whatever evil his handlers at CIA may be up to.

This a classic and quite excellent technique displayed here that is about projecting in the story the average viewer and his/her mundane beliefs as a side character , where his beliefs are confronted ( and dismantled ) by the other "main" characters to involve the viewers more into the story . Here it is done masterfully , and that is one of the multiple aspects that made Sicario a gem .

@glacialimpala

4 ай бұрын

if Kate was supposed to be the audience how come everyone came out pissed off at her sabotaging almost every chance she had? If that was the aim then only a civilian could be a suitable role. We expect more from the people who have to have a certain psych profile to even set foot in the FBI

She is not a hero or villain, she is conscience.

@FabledGentleman

5 жыл бұрын

Yes. She is basically the same character that Ben Kingsley played in Schindlers List. She represents the audience.

@arng9588

5 жыл бұрын

I agree she is not the villain or hero but she is also not conscience.

@BD-jn5dn

5 жыл бұрын

Peter Love no, she’s an idiot

@caveman357

5 жыл бұрын

She is a liberal

@paulfrantizek102

5 жыл бұрын

She was definitely self-righteous.

Great observation…when Kate said, “I’m not a soldier…” and gets the reply, “don’t sell yourself short…” is the core antagonistic perspective once you buy into the righteousness of Alejandro. That’s the brilliance of the movie. But one can argue that Kate was more righteous…rules…society…civilized…an age old debate.

I don’t think the movie was meant to portray Alejandro and Graver as heroes. The message I took away was that the only way to beat the cartels was to fight just as dirty as them on their own terms, and lose your humanity in the process. Kate was unwilling to compromise her integrity, even if it meant losing the drug war. She may not have been a hero, this isn’t a movie with heroes, but she was the movie’s conscience. There are no winners in this story.

Glad to know Im not the only one who felt like that about Kate. She was too close minded and naive.

She's not a villain or an antagonist, she's a victim. She's a horror movie protagonist, who has their worldview shattered.

@damjanmladic9327

Жыл бұрын

She was naive …… Woman ☕️

@tdb4763

Жыл бұрын

You're too dumb to feel stupid

@trav2233

Жыл бұрын

yea their world view. Their lil perfect world 💀

@cartergirl3of3

Жыл бұрын

Yeah a victim maybe but also an idiot and does more harm than good

@Dyno2999

6 ай бұрын

@@damjanmladic9327would you be any better in that situation LMAO

This is not a character driven movie. It’s a subject driven movie. Theories regarding character are kind of nullified by the fact that there is almost no character development at all. In fact, Kate is more like Alice in Wonderland. She’s simply there to provide the audience with eyes on the ground as the events unfold. Almost all the dialogue directed at her is the writer (Taylor Sheridan, a Native Texan) basically talking to us, the audience. There are no hero’s or villains in this movie as there are no hero’s or villains in the war on drugs and the perpetual border issues caused by it.

The ends don't justify the means because the end will never come. Remember the scene at the end of the movie. A shootout in the distance, symbolizing how everything that just happened in the movie was pointless because nothing changed.

This movie, man... The dialogue, the tension, the disquiet. Utterly spectacular movie.

"The ends justify the means" is why we have laws. And where your logic fails.

@Prometheus7272

3 жыл бұрын

Paul Cannon Laws don’t define reality

@NickHunter

3 жыл бұрын

@@Prometheus7272 and reality based on the most evil of evils doesn't define the law

@loose007cannon

3 жыл бұрын

I agree , we define reality and we the people have both the power and the responsibility of the law. Our country, our constitution is hard work and we as a populace have been lazy. Look at who we have let run for President the last few elections. These are the best America has to offer us? No , but we aren't using our vote, our voice to demand better. If the laws don't work, change them. Don't disregard them and please don't praise those who do.

@The_Butcher_of_Blaviken

3 жыл бұрын

@@NickHunter We define the law, if a law passes and nobody follows that law then that law is useless. We create laws to better control our reality if a law passes that nobody follows then its a failed law. So if a law is really distant from the reality then it will most probably not be followed and fail.

@kareemmasri3934

3 жыл бұрын

But we also have plea deals, undercover cops and criminal informants, so even THEY need to bend the rules a little.

Well, Matt and Alejandro's "team" is never seriously threatened for a key reason that reinforces your point. In the briefing room scene, the team is explicitly mentioned as being "delta", referring to quite possibly the most elite fighting force in the entire world. I can't know what Denis intended the audience to take away from this somewhat throw away line (ie "so everyone knows who to hide behind"), but the character Kate absolutely would have known. Having a Delta squad with them makes what Matt and Alejandro are doing an entirely different level of serious. Delta basically does nothing other than the most difficult and time critical missions at the highest level of national security importance.....and highjacks/kidnappings. It is much easier to come around to "Kate's the villain", if you understand the implications of their having a Delta team attached.

This is a peak into reality. Reality shocked her to her core. Only insulated individuals think this way. She needed this operation to open her eyes.

I appreciate your editing, script-writing, and thoughtful analysis. However, I think you are too quick to pin Alejandro and Matt as the “heroes.” Painting anyone as a hero regarding this story ignores the poignant final scene-the gunshots ripping through the air during the soccer match. The point is that nothing has changed. Doing things morally or brutally doesn’t matter because the war on drugs is fruitless. Frankly, this video and some of the comments are disturbing because they are turning this complicated situation into a U.S. savior complex where the ends justify the means.

@byakugan2173

4 жыл бұрын

The US is acting in the interest of the US. She is willing to let evil thrive instead of getting her hands dirty. At some point everyone has to take a stand. Sometimes inaction is the same as complicity

@byakugan2173

4 жыл бұрын

The Us is acting in their own interest. She chooses to let evil happen as not to get her hands dirty. At some point you have to take a stand and not doing so makes you complicit

@macfilms9904

4 жыл бұрын

Logan, you nailed it - like the great film 'Traffic' there is no 'winning' the war on drugs - Matt, through Alejandro, is merely replacing one group of drug dealers with another - because the Medellin cartel is more 'stable' than Arcon's - but as seen when the Delta operator takes Kate to the roof to watch the battles in Juarez (as well as the final automatic gunfire during the soccer game), it's not like the change will be without lots of death. You cut off the head of a snake and five more rise up vying for control. Kate I believe is supposed to represent us, the American public - involved in the fight, but fairly clueless about how the game is played - she's dragged along for the necessities of Matt's project (having a fed along on 'joint operations'). Kate isn't the villain, and Alejandro isn't the hero - his 'but for me it is (personal)' and killing the innocent Aracon kids and wife demonstrates this vividly - he's out for (understandable) revenge. There are no heroes in this story, I think that's the point - Kate's journey is our journey, discovering the terrible moral quandaries of the war on drugs, and the fact that what is done in our name, by individuals at US agencies is completely immoral and of questionable value (the Medellin cartel was not particularly well-known for being nonviolent).

@ChucksSEADnDEAD

3 жыл бұрын

@@byakugan2173 "The US is acting in the interest of the US." - The US is acting against its own interest. Not only does the War on Drugs damage American society and bring about more violence, the whole drug trade enterprise was a CIA op to finance anti-communist factions during the Cold War. "She is willing to let evil thrive instead of getting her hands dirty." - Getting hands dirty means giving up the ideals that made you whole in the first place. Personally, I don't think anyone has moral quandries about torturing or massacring cartel members. But once we condone the system that does it, we're paving the way for our own doom because those tactics will one day be used against us. Remember how the PATRIOT Act was supposed to be used against terrorists? Now Congress wants the FBI to have access to everyone's internet records. Once you get dirty, you can't wash it off.

@mikejunior211

3 жыл бұрын

@@ChucksSEADnDEAD So, let the cartels alone...They are good boys... Right?

Kate is no villain. She is a tragic figure who represents the loss of innocence, and perhaps also the audience, who may have sided with Kate in the beginning. She's innocent, naive, idealistic. Throughout the movie she watches Matt's team, thinking "We are a nation of laws, we do things a certain way for a reason, this is going too far". She recoiled when it was revealed to her that Matt's brutal tactics were the only path to real results. She found herself submerged in a dark world of extralegal killings that she was not mentally or morally prepared to be a part of. That's the same boat most average people would probably find themselves in, I would think. It takes a certain person to go out and do that stuff, and still hold it together. Alejandro summed it up in the end... "go back to where the rule of law still exists. You're not a wolf. And this is the land of wolves now."

@mrlaydback11

5 жыл бұрын

This is how I think about her character as well. Good job.

@frontsquats

5 жыл бұрын

She's not a villain, but she is certainly the antagonist of the movie. She tries to undermine and hamper Matt's objectives at every turn. She's naive and wants to conform her surroundings to her ideals rather than face reality and do what needs to be done to accomplish the objective. This is illustrated well when she almost gets shot at the border crossing. Alejandro tells her to get out of the car. She thinks she knows better, stays in the car, and luckily avoids being shot by the Mexican police. She is arrogant and naive: a deadly combination for herself and those around her. She personifies these college kids that demand safe spaces that foster their own delusions and naivety while failing to prepare them for the real world. They feel everyone has to bend to their will and ideas and can't handle it when reality says otherwise. Even at the very end of the movie, after all she's seen, she hasn't learned much. She still refuses to sign Alejandro's paper. She wants to stand up for what she believes is right, but doesn't have the follow through. Her convictions are empty because she cannot act on them. She's right back where she started.

@IJustMadeAComment

5 жыл бұрын

FixedWing82 I think you’re both right. She is a tragic figure of ideals and doesn’t fit into the context yet at the same time she is a villan because of her continued obsession of the ideals over the outcome.

@reds7vn644

5 жыл бұрын

FixedWing82 But .... Even after she's told by her superiors that this is the law and that these are the rules and that these are the methods that we are now using she still tries to go against the system in even says after the tunnel scene I'm going to tell everybody what you did. Which we all know in a mission like that she signed a non-disclosure agreement so in a fact she is being the bad guy The Whistleblower instead of conforming to what she's been ordered to do and carry out of her lawful duties. She is the villain of the movie.

@bartoszbaranowski604

5 жыл бұрын

This! @OP has no idea what he is talking. For starters, one has to realize LEOs, (this is kind of simplification) are no better than criminals, they use same means, methods etc to fend of unwanted influence - in case of LEOs - criminals. One difference is that action of LEOs is sanctioned by society/gov and are subject to rules. If there are no rules it is just criminals and each other throats.

This is a profound misunderstanding of the movie. As others have said, Kate is an audience cipher, not a villain. She is both naive and also has a confused moral framework (like we do with respect to the war on drugs). But she is not “villainous” for being unwilling to use Alejandro’s tactics. The whole point of the movie is that our attempt to fight this war has turned us into monsters every bit as horrible as that which we’re fighting. And the movie quite deliberately provides no evidence at all that these “off book” tactics achieve anything at all except vengeance.

Her "moral compass" stopped working in the end when Alejandro held a gun to her head and forced her to sign that report.

@MasonMcLeodFilms

Жыл бұрын

Yeah, having someone point a gun at your face and threaten to end your existence will scare a lot of people into doing something they don’t want to do…

Damn I never thought that the means and ends argument could've been flipped like that. Subbed.

You couldn't be more wrong. If we don't subscribe to the dictates of our OWN moral compass, to whose notion of morality should we subscribe? That of a ruthless bureaucracy? A vengeful colleague? A utilitarian state? One can understand Alejandro and sympathize with his boundless grief, his justifiable grievance, and his ineluctable rage, but to describe Kate as a villain is an endorsement of vigilantism. I love animals, wolves included. The thing about wolves, though, is that they have the luxury of being free from ethical constraint. Alarcón's young boys almost certainly did not yet know what a monster their father was or how he made his living, no more than Alejandro's daughter did. They were executed AS A PUNISHMENT TO THEIR PARENTS. Is that justice, then, or revenge? Sympathetic as he is, Alejandro had become little better than the thing he hated. In his loss and grief and vengeance, he had held a gun under battered Kate's chin, ready to execute her, too, if she wouldn't sign his license to kill. If what he did was morally defensible, why should he need her to sign off on it, and be willing to kill her if she would not? This is why in our courts we allow victims to have their say, but we dont give them the power of judge and jury. We are a nation of laws, not wolves. Sicario is a great movie. We love Alejandro and are deeply sympathetic to his rage, his unbearable grief, and his unquenchable need for revenge. He is Achilles, dragging Hector's corpse behind his chariot before the walls of Troy. But that, by no means, makes Kate a villain. She is our appalled conscience.

I find your assessment of ends justifying the means completely backwards. Ends justifying the means implies that evil actions are justified so long as the end result is positive. Her character is fighting against committing those evil actions. This movie, great as it is, is a film that dangerously implies that ends justifying the means is acceptable and appropriate.

@BobHooker

3 ай бұрын

I think it more show the audience that though the acts are evil, the audience enjoys them just as the audience is full of people who do drugs sometimes and still demand we fight the cartels. We love sadistic violent movies.

Her inner frustration came from her realization to everything that she was taught was not the way the rules were played higher up on the chain.

I'm glad there are folks that genuinely dive into films, good ones at that! Sicario, even it's sequal, which became a very different film, nearly a different genre, is a beast of a movie. But, labeling Kate as a 'villain' is kinda not what's going on in the film. Kate's more of our gateway into viewing this world and if anything just symbolizes a dissenting voice on meeting violence with violence. Think you dove too much into that one. Not suggesting you didn't think it through or that youre stupid, alright? But, yeah, Kate's motives have no parallel with Fausto. Blunt's character, much like one of the key promotional posters they used for the film, is simply the witness, the looking glass that gives allowance to the script to set up the narrative for the audience to understand two points of view regarding 'the war on drugs' and the nature of what it means to 'speak softly but to carry a big stick.' Released later, but I gotta quote Rust in True Detective, "The world needs bad men. We keep the other bad men from the door." Kate simply disagrees with that. Her training, her mindset, is different, and that's also why the team they put her on needs her, to save public face for what they perceive to be the only way in dealing with what's going on. If anything, Kate's neither a villain nor a protagonist, she's a pawn. We root for her, understand her fears and motivations, even when she holds the gun on Alejandro for the second time as he leaves her apartment. Hope this doesn't read as me just going outta my way to be contrarian; I love this movie too, man; enjoy back and forth about this stuff a lot, too much sometimes, haha! Bummed I'm just now reading your perspective on it. Video's four years old now!

@cummins24421

2 жыл бұрын

This is the equivalent of saying Chris Cuomo is just a journalist while he runs about the media landscape actively interfering with events.

@beanie1089

2 жыл бұрын

@@cummins24421 I dont watch Chris(?), but if you disagree with me, that's quite alright. Feel like I explained myself pretty well. Wanna elaborate on your end, give counter points or anything? It's alright if you dont wanna.

@spartanical

2 жыл бұрын

in the big scheme of things, she isn't a villain. she's a good and caring person even though she's a little self-righteous. however life requires compartmentalization because what needs to be done is not always what we wish to be done, and we have to possess the ability to effectively judge a situation and sometimes apply ethics fluidly for different circumstances. with that in mind, it's pretty clear to see that within the compartment Kate existed for this movie, she pretty much was a villain in a lot of ways to the team and to the mission and to the innocents who suffered longer because of bureaucrats like her valuing rules above necessity or justice. if you were running to save a family member from drowning in a lake and someone persistently kept getting in your way because of something they deemed to demand your immediate attention, in that moment they would be a villain to you and you'd be right; especially if you explained the situation and they defiantly continued to impede your efforts.

@beanie1089

2 жыл бұрын

@@spartanical I get that you're attempting to draw a parallel, but stick with the first bit of what you wrote; you changed it mid way again. Think what helps bolster the argument in Kate's favor is to see her as an idealist, and that her counterpart views the solution as killing not only the leaders, but their families as well. The US government is in opposition to this, but only by way of a sort of Pontius Pilot stance. "We'll give ya what you want (the opportunity for vengeance) if you do x." Alejandro obliges this. I don't think compartmentalization, or the act of accepting the evils that must be done to combat evil itself and being able to set those aside to meet an end game, yields one with the ability to kill children. I think this alone sets Kate out of this 'villain' category. Impending progress based off of a difference in opinion rooted in law and common morality isn't remotely villainous. Also, recall while asking others to see her as a villain that the US government (in the film), along with Alejandro and Graver, pick her specifically because of her ideological beliefs. They knowingly choose someone with an intensely different perspective on how to fight that 'war' so that they can cover their tracks. Happens with the end scene, and, well, they're vindicated, because she doesn't shoot Alejandro, she signs the paper work they want her to sign, and in turn this gets eyes off of them, much they wanted from the start, hiring on a straight laced by the books 'idealistic FBI agent' to cover them. Mercer is against that notion (an eye for an eye), while Graver turns, well, a blind eye and allows Alejandro to wreak havoc, which in turn benefits all three of them because they make a substantial wound in the dark underworld Alarcon aids in maintaining, which is their collective mission and aim.

@spartanical

2 жыл бұрын

@@beanie1089 nothing changed. the second bit supports the first. it was an example that demonstrates that it doesn't always matter what an individual's motivation, character, intention or whatever is. if they're in the way and blocking attempts to set something right, then in that moment, if circumstance is dire enough, they are a "villain". it's a figure of speech, not character analysis. something serious absolutely had to be done, and she was on a team that had that responsibility. they didn't bring her on to be their conscience. you already explained why they brought her. she should have immediately grown up and accepted that nothing at that level is black and white. instead she became a willful obstacle. you likened her to a pawn, but a pawn is only meant to be an obstacle to the opponent.

What else is a villain? How about someone who thinks the ends justifies the means? She's the only character with a moral compass. The only sane in this insane world, that refuses to become like the vilains, exactly by not playing like them. - And you compare her with the criminal boss because "it's just business" this is insanity. For her is not just business, it's about not loosing sight of the correct side.

oooff. Great analysis. And a ton of excellent comments. @desnicar mentions my favorite line in the movie and what is arguably the most relevant point to be made.

i don't know man, feels like your interpretation is way off. Sicario has always felt to me to be about the naivety of people in gated societies towards the cruel realities of real life and of societies beyond their own.

@Jenny_Lee_

3 жыл бұрын

Kate sees the criminals as victims and law enforcement as criminals. Her entire goal throughout the movie was getting evidence to destroy people and their lives work. Kate: "I'm going to tell everyone what you did". Why is she telling if she was already told this was all done by the book and was approved.

@mikejunior211

3 жыл бұрын

@@Jenny_Lee_ She is just an idiot who wants to bring wooden knives to a gun fight.

@valentinpons9191

3 жыл бұрын

i don't know if u can categorize her as the villain per se, but hear me out. when u read marx's communist books, every thing seems great, it should work perfectly, but when u take it to the practice in countries like cuba or venezuela, it doesnt work, because pragmatically is impossible. is the same as Kate, she wants to go by the book, but she is so far out of reality, that she doesnt know that pragmatically her ways are not going to work. is she naive? yes. is she the villain? I dont know, but we know for sure that her ways are not going to work, the same as the ways of the left won't work in the world.

Interesting analysis. Perhaps Kate was a "slave" to her ideals ( in her case on what a good law enforcement officer is), regardless of the situation, while Matt was more of a realist , letting the situation dictate his course of action. I get this feeling we all kind of start out thinking like Kate, but end up thinking like Matt.

this is such a sad way to frame such a well presented character

I much more like the interpretation from another youtuber, that Kate is not a Villain, but that this is not Kates story. She is just the sidekick of Alexandros revenge story.

I really liked Sicario. Her acting however wasn't on the same level as Benicio & Brolins.. I was happy she wasn't in Sicario: Day of the Soldado. Dude from the movie "Get Out" didn't help the film either, so I'm glad he got tossed as well. Soldado really lets Del Toro & Brolin's skills as accomplished actors shine. Heavyweight co stars like Katherine Kenner & Matthew Modine enhance the story & give good performances. Lets finish this amazing story off with a third film, eh? Wrap this dope series up with a trilogy.🌵🌞

@grahamhill676

5 жыл бұрын

Uhhhhh no. Blunts acting in Sicario far outshone both Del Toro and Brolin's in this movie. She simply had more conflicting and emotional scenes....Idk how you can rate them above her. Sicario 2 sas good, but performances were still better in S1 imo. The guy from Get Out is a pretty alright young rising star atm, and he certainly didn't hamper the movie.

@beauhatman4395

5 жыл бұрын

Blunt sucked in this movie.....Worst casting decision in the history of motion pictures.

@Bigfrank88

4 жыл бұрын

The seconds movie is a dumpster fire, I’d like some of what you guys are smoking.

@DARKRESCURED

4 жыл бұрын

@@grahamhill676 Low IQ take.

@grahamhill676

4 жыл бұрын

@@DARKRESCURED Says the one with a feminist profile pic 😂