Taylor Sheridan's 10/10 Neo-Western Thriller Officially Surges on Streaming

Published Aug 13, 2026, 5:51 AM EDT Mitchell Brown is a Wisconsin-based writer, film fanatic, and graduate of University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee who has written for various publications covering film analysis, reviews (both classic and contemporary), and movie news. He's also a screenwriter, having written multiple spec scripts. When he's not watching movies, writing movies, or writing about the films he's already seen...no, that about covers it. It's wild to think that Taylor Sheridan made his screenwriting debut only 11 years ago, considering he's responsible for most of the programming that exists on Paramount+. But after years of having worked primarily as an actor, having only previously written a pilot for Mayor of Kingstown, Sheridan collaborated with one of today's greatest working directors, Denis Villeneuve, to create the surprise hit Sicario, which is currently one of the top 10 most popular films on HBO Max. But you wouldn't know it was Sheridan's first film effort just from watching, considering that he came right out the gate with his signature style: the film has a neo-Western flare that seeps into most of his work, along with layered characters that convey the cynical worldview that most of his shows and movies incorporate. The film follows FBI agent Kate Macer (Emily Blunt) as she joins a Department of Defense task force led by Matt Graver (Josh Brolin) and his mysterious associate Alejandro (Benicio del Toro). Their goal is to bring down one of the Mexican cartels responsible for the flow of drugs into the States. However, after her first mission, she quickly realizes that things aren't on the up and up, and what they're doing to fight the war on drugs is morally unethical, if not completely illegal. Taylor Sheridan and Moral Ambiguity Image via Lionsgate If you've seen any of Sheridan's work, you're likely to notice the morally gray and cynical point of view that creeps into his stories. While things never devolve into misery porn, the world as he depicts it is more how things are, rather than how we'd like them to be (sometimes with a wicked dark sense of humor to boot). His stories rarely have a clean-cut resolution or happy ending; more often than not, it's about appreciating that things didn't get as bad as they could've gotten. Best case scenario, the bad guy dies in the end, but the damage is done and there's no undoing what he did in the first place, or the hero gets what they want, but only after losing something important in the process. Sicario set that precedent with its depiction of the government's battle with the drug trade, as well as the bleak goal Matt and Alejandro are ultimately working toward. Sheridan's lead characters aren't usually shown to be idealists, and sometimes aren't even meant to be likable — but they're compelling, and in this case, the moral ambiguity of Matt and Alejandro makes them wildcards when they're in the field. It's a stark contrast to Kate and her partner Reggie (Daniel Kaluuya), who are both paragons (which is what the sequel sorely lacked). One of the most tragic elements of the story is that while Kate doesn't get corrupted by the case, she does become disillusioned with what she's doing. One of the more poignant lines of the film comes from Macer's boss, played by the always great Victor Garber, who tells her that "we prosecuted more felony drug cases in this region last year than in the two previous years combined. Are you feeling that on the street? Are you getting the vibe that we’re winning?" It's that futility that makes what Matt and Alejandro are doing seem like a necessary evil, and gives more poignancy to the the film's final scene. Taylor Sheridan's American Frontier While Sheridan has worked in a wide variety of different genres, he's probably best known for his forays into the neo-Western genre, with this film being the first entry in his American Frontier Trilogy, followed by Hell or High Water and Wind River. As is the case in most of his projects, the environment that the characters inhabit plays into the atmosphere and feel reflective of the story. Cinematography by Roger Deakins and a score by Jóhann Jóhannsson adds to the modern Western tone, offsetting naturalistic sterile office interiors with wide shots of desert vistas and terrains. The writing also established Sheridan's norm of giving all characters the Aaron Sorkin-like ability to be well-versed in whatever topic of discussion the scene requires; even the anti-heroes are confident and self-assured. Sheridan does a lot of research for his stories which feels reflected in the dialogue and the way that the characters speak with enough conviction that you believe that they know what they're talking about. Sicario is more than just a stellar screenwriting debut; it set the standards of what can be expected from a project with Taylor Sheridan's name in the writing credits. It's also the last time that Denis Villeneuve made a film that wasn't science fiction. So if you're looking for something to watch after finishing Season 3 of Lioness, waiting for the new season of Tulsa King or the aggressively anticipated Dune: Part Three, Sicario is currently streaming on HBO Max. Release Date September 17, 2015 Runtime 122 minutes Director Denis Villeneuve