Director Denis Villeneuve doesn’t disappoint in his latest movie, “Sicario,” starring Emily Blunt as an idealistic FBI agent in pursuit of the truth in a war where truth is hardly black and white. “Sicario” opened on Oct. 2 in theaters nationwide.

From the outset, “Sicario” grabs your attention when FBI swat Team Leader Kate Macer (Emily Blunt) stumbles upon a house filled with more than 60 bodies rotting in its walls, all victims of the drug war.

During the hostage raid in a seemingly quiet, suburban Phoenix neighborhood, she loses two of her team members to an explosion in a booby-trapped shed in the backyard.

In response to the escalating drug violence, the U.S. government assembles a team of specialists to deal with the Mexican cartel, including CIA Officer Matt Graver (Josh Brolin) and a mysterious, Colombian Department of Defense advisor, Alejandro Gillick (Benicio Del Toro).

Macer joins the team so she can get at the men responsible for the house of horrors. But the truth she eventually finds is not the truth she sets out to find.

This movie would not work with any other leading actors or actresses. Emily Blunt continually steadies the plot of this tense thriller with her sincerity. She strikes the perfect balance, portraying an experienced yet naive FBI agent coming to terms with the harsh realities of the drug trade.

Meanwhile, the mysterious Del Toro shakes up the story in shocking, unexpected bursts of action and drama.

Brolin helps to even out the two extremes of Blunt and Del Toro. Where Blunt is naive, Brolin is numb from overexposure, and where Del Toro is extreme, Brolin keeps a level head. These three fantastic performances keep the movie lively without sensationalizing the drama.

“Sicario” is filled with moral dilemmas. It took me several days to mentally digest the more profound points of the plot. At every turn, “Sicario” asks questions like, “Do the ends justify the means?”

“Sicario” is a tense thriller, but it also is a truly thought-provoking film.

Villeneuve does not allow the intense action scenes to overwhelm the dialogue or plot development. The result is spectacular.

Although Matt Damon and “The Martian” overshadowed its release, “Sicario” brings something worthwhile to the movie screen. Where recent thrillers like “Nightcrawler” merely sensationalize evil people and deeds, “Sicario” genuinely grapples with the concept of evil and addresses its imperfect consequences in the real world.

Rating: 4.5/5 “Sicario” is definitely worth your time. Catch it soon before it leaves theaters.