The five-out-of-five Letterboxd response praises economical screenwriting, attainable filmmaking, real-looking casting and dark humor, especially the motel/television scene. — Craig Horlbeck
Four rewatch entry points are the opening, border crossing, tunnel descent and final cartel-family confrontation.
The opening raid, bodies, explosion and shower are scene candidates; the brutality establishes a nightmare and a war beyond the agents’ experience.
The Juárez convoy and Graver recruitment are scene candidates, though recruitment is explicitly not the overall winner.
The border sequence is praised for precise geography, pacing, heat, sound and Kate’s forced complicity. The conspicuous tattooed gunman prompts a proposed category and nitpick; the cartel’s objective is debated.
The bar, Kate/Reggie chemistry, Bernthal’s performance and strangling scene are candidates. Whether Alejandro was watching and whether Kate was deliberately bait are discussed.
The car interrogation is a scene candidate, including the ear torture and Graver’s prison threat; the ear moment is proposed as an apex for wet willies.
The infrared tunnel and Kate being shot in her vest are praised; the shooting is an early Dan Campbell candidate.
The family dinner wins the food-and-drink award and is a major scene candidate. Killing the children is contrasted with the script’s reported ending in which the family escaped.
The adequacy of Alejandro’s revenge is debated, with watching the family die offered as the punishment and time pressure as a reason for speed.
The final confession is another scene candidate, but the border-crossing sequence is the unanimous most-rewatchable choice.
The family dinner wins the food-and-drink award and is a major scene candidate. Killing the children is contrasted with the script’s reported ending in which the family escaped.
Most-2015 choices include younger Walking Dead-era Bernthal, pre-Yellowstone Sheridan, rooting for extrajudicial squads and still being shocked by government misconduct.
Aged-best choices include the progression from daylight through darkness to gray and economical character introductions.
The hosts praise Sheridan’s attention to structural problems while debating the film’s apparent romanticizing of operators and his later tendency to overexplain.
The title, opening information cards, small behavioral details, Alejandro’s wedding ring and the delayed payoff to the Mexican cop’s story age well.
Bernthal’s switch from friendly to threatening and his apparent loss of control during the assault are praised.
Deakins’ dusk descent and framing behind Graver during recruitment are praised; the no-lawyers line and withheld face imply danger. His animation work answers a joke about lighter projects.
Great-shot choices are the soldiers disappearing into dusk and Kate crossing the rooftop toward fireworks.
Bill introduces a listener-proposed Floyd Gondolli personal-enjoyment award and uses rumors of a tunnel. Other answers are an armed operator with thick glasses and a debrief, with Donovan’s reported visual inspiration discussed.
Research reports a replica border crossing, practical thermal camera use, heated shoe soles, the word’s Latin origin, Blunt’s food poisoning and Brolin’s effective pause after forgetting dialogue. Night vision is an added personal-enjoyment answer.
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