We discuss 10 movies like Sicario you must watch. Add these well-recommended movies to your watch list.
The 2015 film from director Denis Villeneuve (Dune) and writer Taylor Sheridan, Sicario, has become increasingly iconic in recent years, as everyone involved in the movie has become a major player in Hollywood. Sheridan is responsible for half the content Paramount Plus is putting out, while Villeneuve is one of the most acclaimed directors in the business. Stars Emily Blunt, Josh Brolin, Daniel Kaluuya, Jon Bernthal, and Benicio del Toro have all increased their profiles since the movie was released.
If you are looking for similar movies to Sicario, we got you covered. Here are ten of them!
10 Movies like Sicario you must watch
Traffic (2000)
If we are talking about Benicio del Toro movies that take place on the US-Mexico border about the drug war, we really can’t miss Steven Soderbergh’s Traffic, one of the movies that put him on the map back when the director was interested in making it in Hollywood. It features multiple parallel-running storylines centered around a wide variety of characters that have pivotal roles to play in the drug business, from users to distributors to politicians. It won multiple Oscars, including Best Director, Best Supporting Actor (del Toro), and Adapted Screenplay.
Collateral (2004)
Other similar movies to Sicario may include the first of Michael Mann’s entries on this list. 2004’s Collateral, starring Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx, follows the latter playing a cab driver-turned-hostage after the man he was hired to drive around town (Cruise) turns out to be a contract killer. It may not be as related to the drug business as most other films on the list, but if you are looking for a great action thriller, you found one in Collateral.
Miami Vice (2006)
Jamie Foxx reunited with Michael Mann for this adaptation of the 1980s series; the film co-starred Colin Farrell. They both play undercover cops trying to take down drug-trafficking operations. It received mixed initial reactions, but the film has gathered a cult following since then.
No Country for Old Men (2007)
If we are talking about movies about the drug business on the Southern border with a crime element added, there is no bigger example than No Country for Old Men, arguably the best film in the Coen Brothers’ filmography. It stars Javier Bardem in his career-defining, Oscar-winning performance as Anton Chigurh, Josh Brolin as Llewelyn Moss, and Tommy Lee Jones as the sheriff of the town where the film takes place. The story follows the Chigurh’s relentless hunt against Moss after the latter steal two million dollars from the scene of a mob exchange gone South.
Hell or High Water (2016)
This is the second film in Taylor Sheridan’s neo-Western trilogy (to be completed with the next movie on the list). It stars Chris Pine and Ben Foster as on-screen brothers carrying out a series of bank robberies while being chased down by two Texas Rangers played by Jeff Bridges and Gil Birmingham. It was released to outstanding critical acclaim when it came out, and it solidified Sheridan as the master of the modern Western.
Wind River (2017)
Sheridan’s third feature film screenplay was also significantly positively received after its debut during the Sundance Film Festival. It was also the first time he directed a script he wrote. The film stars Elizabeth Olsen and Jeremy Renner as federal agents trying to solve the murder in an Indian reservation in Wyoming. The film takes the audience down through the rabbit hole of exploring its relation to the native Americans and how women from the community have been raped and murdered over centuries without anyone raising a finger to help them.
Sicario: Day of the Soldado (2018)
When listing similar movies to Sicario, we have to include the sequel to 2015’s Sicario here. Taylor Sheridan once again returned to write the script, though that was not the case for Denis Villeneuve, who had moved on to Blade Runner 2049 and Dune at this point. Benicio del Toro and Josh Brolin are both back, though that is not the case for Emily Blunt, who was one of the key players in the original film. The story focuses once again on the drug war happening at the Southern border of the US and the role that the Government played in that conflict.
The Mule (2018)
Based on 2014’s Sam Dolnick story in The New York Times, Clint Eastwood directed this 2018 drama that he also starred in as 90-year-old Earl Stone, who was hired as a drug mule by a Mexican cartel to move cocaine through Illinois in exchange for much-desired financial stability, after his business went bankrupt. Bradley Cooper, Laurence Fishburne, and Michael Peña all co-star in the film.
21 Bridges (2019)
21 Bridges is one of Chadwick Boseman’s last performances before he prematurely passed away during the summer of 2020. It was a feature produced by the Russo Brothers after they collaborated on Captain America: Civil War and the final Avengers films, and though it received mixed reactions from critics, the story sounds quite fascinating, so if you are looking for a crime thriller to watch tonight, check this out.
Boseman stars as NYPD officer Andre Davis, who is forced to shut down all 21 bridges around Manhattan in his search for two suspected cop killers, played by Stephan James and Taylor Kitsch. The cast also includes Sienna Miller, J.K. Simmons, and Keith David.
The Gentlemen (2020)
Guy Ritchie’s ambitious ensemble film about the chaos that ensued when a cannabis retailer decided to sell off his business. The cast includes Jeremy Strong, Matthew McConaughey, Charlie Hunnam, Henry Golding, Colin Farrell, and many more. It was a financial and critical hit that inspired an upcoming TV series for Netflix starring Theo James and Giancarlo Esposito, among others.
Do you have any other recommendations for Movies like Sicario? Let us know!
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