With both Josh Brolin and Benicio Del Toro both on comic duty recently, with Brolin not only in Deadpool 2, but sharing Marvel-lous moments with Del Toro in Avengers: Infinity War, the pair have returned to more serious matters with this sequel to 2015’s Sicario.

However, with original director Denis Villeneuve not returning, does this sequel come anywhere near the intensity of the first?

The divide between Mexico and the USA is ever widening. Where once raged the war on drugs, a new commodity has become even more popular to smuggle into the States – people. The US government is less concerned about the poor looking for a new start, and more focused on terrorists crossing the border.

This fear is worsened when a suicide attack takes place in Kansas City, killing several people. With a need to make a strong statement, CIA agent Matt Graver (Brolin) is tasked in stirring the Mexican hornet’s nest, in order to start a war.

The fuse that will light that particular fire, Graver thinks, would be to kidnap Isabel Reyes (Isabela Moner), the daughter of a Cartel leader. Graver recruits his team, including black operative Alejandro (Del Toro), to get the job done.

But as the saying goes, the best laid plans can often turn to shit down Mexico way, and Graver soon realises that he really, really should have had a plan B...

There’s no denying that with not having Villeneuve on board was a heavy loss, particularly when relative unknown Stefano Sollima was given the go ahead to step behind the camera. And although this was to be his Hollywood debut, he has directed a number of influential Italian crime shows, including Romanzo Criminale and Gomorrah.

Visually, the film fits in well with its original. Sollima can certainly handle set pieces, of which the opening one is especially impressive, as well as sumptuous desert landscapes. The pacing takes some getting used to though, with moody silences often filling awkward spaces, and just a general sluggishness here and there. But with two compelling performances by Brolin and Del Toro, these are easily forgiven. They both carry a high intensity of testosterone throughout, which should come with a warning, as they manly grunt their way through proceedings.

Taylor Sheridan’s script may not be quite up to the mark of his original, but still manages to make it far more watchable than other similar dramas. And the fact that he always envisaged the Sicario story as a trilogy bodes well for not only another instalment, but another opportunity to witness Brolin and Del Toro dazzle in the desert sun.