In the US and Mexico, the war on drugs rages on.

“Sicario” opens Friday and expands nationwide on Oct. 2.

“I don’t know if he’s a villain”, the actor told Entertainment Tonight during an appearance at the Toronto international Film Festival about the character he may or may not play.

The key difference between the films is the station, and journey, of the protagonists.

Villeneuve, the Quebecois director of “Prisoners,” was more confident. “People are saying that, but it’s like they read a different script than I read”, he said. When news first emerged that Del Toro was being eyed for the role of the villain in STAR WARS: EPISODE VIII, it seemed to be received favourably by fans and the actor later confirmed that talks were indeed underway. There, the agents, including Kate’s FBI partner and pal Reggie (Daniel Kaluuya), discover a massive amount of decaying corpses, the work of the murderous cartel run by Diaz.

You can skip to the end and leave a response. He is right on all three points. After his sojourn prettying up Angelina Jolie’s otherwise awful Unbroken, it’s nice to see Big Lebowski cinematographer Roger Deakins apply his talents somewhere useful, and he and Denis Villeneuve make beautiful music together.

As predicted, she has doubts, and raises questions; early on, her challenges are handled with a simplicity that borders on clumsiness, as an argument with Brolin is carefully framed to include an American flag flapping overhead.

Alejandro isn’t the only part of Sicario ” s pile-up of moral ambiguities, one perfectly suited to an escalating, horrific, seemingly insoluble war.

I don’t know if he’s a villain. She’s whisked across the desert from one location to another, all the while trying to figure out who she’s really working for and why they are suddenly so interested in killing Mexican cartel members. Along for the ride is del Toro’s shady character, who might have ulterior motives for taking down these dangerous men. The grisliness of that encounter is deliberate, and telling: if the object of their operation is a monster, that’s one thing.

This string of movies, from “Visitors” to “Sicario”, solely make up a small a part of Del Toro’s diversified credit. It’s a picture that grabs your innards, and squeezes.

“Look”, exclaimed a PR agent to a circle of colleagues and journalists. Wouldn’t she figure this thing out before she does?

Alongside her, Brolin expertly channels all of the smiley, gum-popping malevolence that I assume every sociopathic Blackwater operative carries around. Sicario builds and maintains tension so well that you’re in a forgiving mood once tension is broken, and something weird and implausible happens.