10 Gritty Movies Like Sicario You Need to Watch

Movies like Sicario have exciting action, political drama that makes you think, and acting that has won awards. Sicario is a slow-burning thriller that came out in 2015 and is about how drug cartels work and the line between the US and Mexico. There are three main points of view in the movie, which was directed by Denis Villeneuve: Emily Blunt as an FBI agent, Josh Brolin as a secretive government agent, and Benicio del Toro as an even more mysterious killer. The movie did well at the box office and with critics, and three years later, Sicario: Day of the Soldado came out as a follow up.

The only movies that can compare to Sicario, with its beautiful photography and very bad content, are the best action thrillers. But a lot of the best movies by Denis Villeneuve and other well-known directors hit the same spots. Fans of Villeneuve’s action thriller will find it easy to find movies like Sicario. Many of them can be watched for free or with a paid subscription on big streaming services.

10 Gritty Movies Like Sicario:

1. No Country for Old Men (2007):

The Coen Brothers’ movie version of Cormac McCarthy’s book starts with a stark, dialogue-free scene of a lone hunter (Josh Brolin) finding the wreckage of a failed drug deal in the Texas desert. This sets the tone right away for the movie’s themes of random violence and moral decay. The movie won four Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Supporting Actor for Javier Bardem. This made it one of the most important crime tales of its time.

Both movies like Sicario and No Country for Old Men show how individual morals can’t stop violent systems that are too strong. Roger Deakins’ stark cinematography, the honest picture of the drug trade along the U.S.-Mexico border, and the lack of music all contribute to a mood of dread that had a big impact on Sicario. As Anton Chigurh, the hitman played by Javier Bardem, one of the scariest bad guys in movie history is created. He is a natural disaster who causes damage, like Benicio Del Toro’s angry agent in Sicario.

2. Traffic (2000):

Want to see another movie about the drug trade that isn’t clear-cut in terms of morals? Not long ago, Steven Soderbergh made “Traffic.” This movie from 2000 has several stories going on at the same time. A politician (Michael Douglas) who is running for office as “hard on drugs” finds out that his daughter (Erika Christensen) is hooked on drugs in one. Another one is about two Mexican cops, Benicio del Toro and Jacob Vargas, who try to stop a drug gang. At the same time, a woman played by Catherine Zeta-Jones finds out where her rich husband, played by Steven Bauer, really gets his money.

He’s great in “Traffic.” If you movies like Sicario, you’ll love him in this one too. His work in this movie is so good that it’s right up there with Sicario as one of the best things he’s ever done. The most amazing thing about “Traffic” is how it tells such a big story without losing sight of the little things. It shows all sides of the drug trade, from sellers and users to drug lords and their families. It does this by weaving together different stories to show how they are all linked in a more general way. The movie shows how pointless the “war on drugs” can be without ever appearing preachy. The movie “Traffic” is not fun to watch, but it is very powerful, movies like Sicario.

3. Clear And Present Danger (1994):

In Sicario, the story of a brave fight against the evil drug gangs is set up. But the movie makes people think by asking what strategies are used to fight such evil in the world. This idea has been looked at before in the world of Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan. In Clear and Present Danger, Harrison Ford plays Ryan again. Ryan is a CIA expert who gets caught up in an international plot in which the government is involved in a drug war.

Clear and Present Danger has some great action scenes, but it’s also a political thriller that takes place at the top levels of American politics. In these ways, Ford’s Ryan is a lot like Kate Mercer in Sicario: he is the hero who learns about the truth of the war on drugs and the shady dealings going on behind the scenes that have made her a pawn.

4. Hell or High Water (2016):

The first scene of Hell or High Water is a tense bank robbery that goes against what you might expect. This sets the tone for the modern Western about two brothers (Chris Pine and Ben Foster) who rob banks to save their family ranch while being chased by a Texas Ranger (Jeff Bridges) who is about to retire. Taylor Sheridan was nominated for four Academy Awards for his work in the movie. His sharp dialogue and complex character motivations turned what could have been a simple crime story into a thought-provoking look at how American values are changing and the effects of the 2008 financial crisis.

Movies like Sicario has a similar feeling of impending doom, thanks to the sun-baked Texas landscapes and David Mackenzie’s slow, deliberate pace. The movie also goes into great detail about economic desperation and how the lines between right and wrong are blurred in America’s forgotten corners.

5. Prisoners (2013):

Two kids go missing from their Pennsylvania town during the day in “Prisoners,” and their families are heartbroken. Keller Dover, played by Hugh Jackman, is the father of one of the girls. He doesn’t trust Detective Loki (Jake Gyllenhaal), who is leading the police investigation, so he chooses to do something himself. Soon, Keller had taken a possible suspect, Paul Dano, hostage so that he could question him, but his attempts at criminal justice quickly got out of hand.

Feel like you know this 2013 movie? That’s because it was directed by the same person who made Sicario. The stories of both movies were complicated, and the cinematography was dark and moody. Both movies were directed by Denis Villeneuve. Hugh Jackman’s desperate father may remind people of Alejandro, who is ready to do anything, even things that aren’t right, to get revenge for his wife and daughter. There aren’t many movies that will make you feel as scared as “Prisoners.”

6. Training Day (2001):

A crime thriller called Training Day is one of the few movies that can match the constant stress that you feel while watching Sicario. In Training Day, Denzel Washington wins an Oscar for his role as Detective Harris, an LAPD drug agent who is teaching Jake (Ethan Hawke), a new police officer how to do his job. During the bad and violent day, Jake is taken on a strange and dark trip into the dangerous underbelly of the city. He is constantly wondering what Harris is really up to.

Jake’s personality is a lot like Kate’s in Sicario. They are both good-hearted police cops who want to make a difference but get involved with people they thought were on their side but who they soon learn they can’t trust. The best part about both movies is how they make you feel completely uneasy, like something bad could happen at any time.

7. The Town (2010):

While Sicario is about violence between drug cartels, The Town is about organized crime in Boston’s Charlestown neighborhood. It follows a professional thief (Affleck) who falls in love with a bank manager (Rebecca Hall) who was held hostage during one of his heists. Ben Affleck’s crime story takes place in Boston and starts with a bank robbery that is carried out perfectly by masked thieves. This shows how well the movie is made and how much attention to detail is used.

The most intense and realistic action scenes, especially the shootout at Fenway Park, are on par with Sicario’s border tunnel scene. Jeremy Renner was nominated for an Academy Award for his role as the unstable Jem. His performance shows the same dangerous lack of certainty that makes Benicio Del Toro’s character in Sicario so interesting. In both movies, the main characters are stuck between the criminal world they live in and the chance to leave.

8. Zero Dark Thirty (2012):

This 2012 film turns the war on terror into a tight thriller with no easy ending, similar to movies like Sicario which did the same thing with the “war on drugs.” Kathryn Bigelow’s “Zero Dark Thirty” tells the story of the search for Osama bin Laden through the eyes of a made-up CIA agent named Maya (Jessica Chastain). Maya thinks bin Laden is still alive and active, even though most people in the U.S. think he is no longer a threat. She has to persuade other people to join her journey, which will take almost ten years to complete.

It’s fascinating to watch Jessica Chastain play a young agent who is driven and turns tough because of her job. People who liked Sicario will like how realistic the movie is, especially the intense raid scene shown in night vision. There are some things that Zero Dark Thirty gets wrong about the real story, but it stays true to what happened during the 10-year search. It’s on purpose that the movie doesn’t have a big ending. Not many movies do a good job of showing how messy a foreign CIA operation can be. This movie, like Sicario, asks if finding the bad guy is really the only way to solve the problem.

9. Miami Vice (2006):

Many people thought Miami Vice was just a cheesy copy of the classic 1980s cop show with the same name, but that wasn’t the case at all. This intense and thrilling ride is directed by Michael Mann in his signature style. Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx play two Miami agents who are hired by the FBI to go undercover in a drug lord’s business and bring down the whole operation.

Several police departments work together to fight a drug gang, which is a lot like the plot of Sicario. However, Miami Vice is not about the shady truth that is hiding in the shadows of these partnerships. Instead, it is about the intense undercover operation that is going on, with Farrell’s agent entering dangerous territory. Mann is the only author who can write a detailed and exciting crime story like this.

10. Syriana (2005):

Syriana is another movie that looks at the global war on terror. It is not a linear story and follows several major characters as they go through different situations around the world. When there are different groups of people with different goals, oil is the main thing that drives the plot forward. Anything is possible, even killing someone. Following this, the movie shows how the US will do anything, even if it is wrong, to get what it wants and win.

As impressive as Sicario’s cast was, Syriana’s cast is just as good. George Clooney is in great form and is joined by other Oscar winners Chris Cooper, Matt Damon, Christopher Plummer, and many more. The two movies also have a lot in common: they both show that the US government will do anything, even kill its own people, to keep the resources where it wants them.

Conclusion:

You’re not the only one who wanted more stories with tension, hard moral choices, and honest depictions of the drug trade and crooked politics after watching Sicario. As a result of its gritty realism, haunting performances, and ethically murky characters, Sicario has raised the bar for crime thrillers. Luckily, there are a lot of movies like Sicario that do the same thing: they explore the dark side of justice, make us question what is right and wrong, and are so intense that they leave us gasping for air.

These gritty crime tales, from Oscar winners like No Country for Old Men and Traffic to modern masterpieces like Prisoners, Hell or High Water, and Zero Dark Thirty, are more than just action-packed. They’re also deeply political, emotionally charged, and thematically strong. If you’re interested in movies about the war on drugs, high-stakes undercover missions, or law enforcement stories with tough morals, this list has the right next movie for you.

These books will keep you on the edge of your seat and thinking long after the credits roll if you want to read more action tales movies like Sicario.

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