Taylor Sheridan’s ‘Sicario on Prime Is Still Better Than ‘Yellowstone’

Available to stream on Amazon Prime, Sicario tells the gripping, intense story of the brutal struggle between FBI agents and the Mexican cartel to control the border. Starring Emily Blunt, Benicio del Toro, Josh Brolin, and others, the ensemble cast brings the action to life, an achievement that wouldn’t have been possible without the outstanding screenplay penned by Taylor Sheridan.

Sheridan’s name was not as well known in 2015 when Sicario was released, but his work was better than what audiences have seen in shows like Yellowstone and its spin-offs. Sicario integrates many themes found in Sheridan’s future shows, namely inner conflicts over perceived good and evil, life on the American frontier, and the enduring quest for power, albeit with more thrill and appeal.

Sicario is packed with action, compelling characters, and a story that led to one sequel (and another increasingly in doubt). For Sheridan fans and newbies alike, Sicario is a must-see movie.

Sicario

Release Date

September 17, 2015

Runtime

122 minutes

Stream

‘Sicario’ Was Written to Bring Attention to a “Widely Unreported” War

When promoting Sicario in 2015, Taylor Sheridan talked about how the idea for the screenplay came about:

“It was a combination of a few things. It was a fascination with a largely ignored calamity happening so close to our own border. It affects so many people and is a massive business that really permeates every region of this nation and wreaks such havoc and isn’t talked about. At the time I wrote the screenplay, it was at the height of the three-way war going in with Mexico with various cartels and the army’s intervention. The carnage, violence and the casualties of that was so massive, and shocking. It was also widely unreported. It took effort to find some coverage of it in American news. It seemed when a reporter would cover it, there was no appetite to look at it.”

Sheridan did his research and, while there were some challenges to getting Sicario made, he worked closely with director Denis Villeneuve and the cast to bring the complexities of the ongoing War on Drugs to the big screen.

To relay the story he wanted to tell, Sheridan created characters who personified the competing interests and loyalties associated with events on the U.S.-Mexico border. Kate Macer, played by Emily Blunt, was completely consumed by her job with the FBI and unable to break the rules. Her supervisor on a task force established to root out cartel activity, Matt Graver (Josh Brolin) and the CIA-trained assassin, Alejandro Gillick, on the other hand, prove themselves to be willing to do whatever it takes to find a major drug lord active in the region. It’s in the spirit of the latter that Sicario was Sheridan’s own rule-breaking in action:

“I want to tell stories that matter to me. I want to tell them in ways that I find riveting to watch. I’m gonna break all the rules I’ve been taught to as an actor for exposition and structure.”

Related

How Taylor Sheridan Became Hollywood’s Top Talent

Taylor Sheridan is the new golden boy of Hollywood. How did he get there, and how long does he plan to stay on the top?

‘Sicario’ Was Lauded by Critics

But Praise for Taylor Sheridan Has Lessened Over Time

With a budget of $30 million, Sicario took home a worldwide box office of nearly $85 million, generally making it a success. The triumphs of Sicario were more clear from the outset in terms of critical response. Peter Bradshaw from The Guardian called Sicario, “A real white-knuckle thriller, with screeching feedback notes of fear and paranoia, which plays out in a very satisfying atmosphere of pure nihilist ruthlessness.”

Bradshaw praised Denis Villeneuve’s direction, the performance of Emily Blunt and others, as well as the score and cinematography, as did Richard Roper from the Chicago Sun-Times. Roper also called it “one of the best movies of the year,” a distinction that was proven true by the placement of Sicario on numerous lists of the top movies of 2015.

While there were many works that Sheridan put forward later in his career, the accolades they received diminished over time. As recently as December 2024, Peter Vonder Haar called the biggest issue with Sheridan’s shows like Yellowstone and Landman, Sheridan himself.

Related

Why Sicario: Day of the Soldado Is a Great Sequel

While its existence is somewhat baffling, Sicario: Day of the Soldado was a subversive sequel that honored the first film’s legacy.

Taylor Sheridan Sees ‘Sicario’ as Part of a “Thematic Trilogy”

Sicario was followed by a sequel, Sicario: Day of the Soldado in 2018. A second sequel, Sicario: Capos, was still in development as of 2024, although less and less likely to come to fruition. Sicario: Day of the Soldado was also written by Sheridan, although the movie was less highly praised. The fate of the third Sicario movie is dependent upon Sheridan’s ability to come up with a good script, something he’s not done.

Even if the Sicario three-quel doesn’t come to fruition, Sheridan got his trilogy. Sheridan followed up Sicario with Hell or High Water in 2016 and Wind River in 2017. He wrote both movies and directed the latter to finish off what he dubbed a “thematic trilogy” in an interview with Esquire in 2017:

“If someone were to watch Sicario, watch Hell or High Water and then watch Wind River — which makes for about a six-hour downer day — they’re going to see things that were introduced in Sicario and answered in Wind River, and themes that were brought up in Hell or High Water that are resolved in Wind River, even though the stories are in no way connected.”

Sheridan specified that he wanted to “explore the modern American frontier” and how much has changed in the U.S. while looking at “fatherhood, and the failure of it.” Ultimately, it came down to his fascination with the notion that a person could “move on from a tragedy without ever getting closure.” Sheridan got a trilogy and has continued to tackle the modern American frontier in shows like Yellowstone, 1883, 1923, and Landman. That said, his first foray into the area is still his best.

You can view the original article HERE.