In the movie sequel culture we now live in, it shouldn’t necessarily be a surprise when any film gets a follow-up. Still, Sicario, a bleak and bloody look at the U.S.-American drug trade released in 2015, was far from a prime candidate for a sequel.
But as written once again by the blazing hot Taylor Sheridan (Hell or High Water, Wind River), Sicario: Day of the Soldado turns the burgeoning franchise into more of an anthology than acting as a direct sequel. Federal agent/fixer Matt Graver (Josh Brolin) and hitman-for-hire Alejandro (Benicio Del Toro) are back, this time working with the U.S. government to confront human smuggling across the Mexican border.
That might seem to be an of-the-moment type story, but Sheridan and director Stefano Sollima present an even more dire scenario than current affairs. The drug cartels are thought to be bringing in terrorists from other countries, resulting in a number of horrific suicide bombings. The powers-that-be in the U.S. decide the only way to combat this is by starting an inter-cartel war inside Mexico, with Matt and Alejandro at the forefront.
The plot is about as intricate as they come, involving both a kidnapping of a drug lord’s daughter (Isabella Moner) and a side plot about a young American boy recruited into smuggling people. Not everything makes sense all the way through, and various threads fall apart the more you think about them. When the impetus of the entire story is moved aside with barely a mention, it’s unclear if it’s supposed to be a commentary on the complexities of global warfare, or if the filmmakers simply dropped the ball.
Still, the intensity of the action and the commitment of the actors keep the film above board for the most part. You may hardly, if ever, condone the actions of the lead characters, but it’s difficult to argue that the film isn’t effective in showcasing what they do. The first film reveled in moral ambiguity, and, if anything, the second film doubles down on that idea.
Both Brolin and Del Toro are now entrenched members of the Marvel universe, but they’re arguably more memorable in their respective roles in these two films. Graver is the prototypical American badass, always doing whatever it takes to get the job done, and Brolin plays him with zeal. Del Toro is quieter but equally successful as Alejandro, always seeming to be in the right place at the right time.
Sicario: Day of the Soldado is downright depressing in its worldview and could have use a few storytelling tweaks. But it also proves itself a worthy if unlikely sequel, paving the way for perhaps more Sicario films in the future.
The Gold Over America Tour cast performing on NBC's "America's Got Talent."
First came the gold medals, now comes the Gold Over America Tour, the Simone Biles-led gymnastics showcase currently touring 30 cities around the United States and landing at Fort Worth's Dickies Arena on Sunday, October 20.
Joining Biles are fellow Paris Olympic champions (the self-titled "Golden Girls") Jordan Chiles, Jade Carey, and Plano's Hezly Rivera, along with bronze medal-winning men’s team members Paul Juda, Brody Malone, Asher Hong, and Fred Richard, plus other gymnastics superstars. Adding men to the G.O.A.T. show is a new twist; the 2021 tour, post-Tokyo Olympics, had a cast made up entirely of women.
It’s a change that Biles hopes will help elevate men’s gymnastics around the country.
Juda, for one, couldn’t be more grateful. The Olympic medalist is still riding the wave of excitement from winning the first USA men’s team medal in 16 years, along with having achieved his own dream of competing in the Olympic individual all-around final.
We recently chatted with Juda, who took us behind the scenes of the G.O.A.T. show, the squad, and life on the tour bus as a college student missing classes to travel the country like a rock star.
CultureMap: At the Olympics this summer, the whole vibe of men’s and women’s USA gymnastics seemed happy and supportive of each other. How are you carrying that camaraderie into performing together as a troupe in the Gold Over America Tour?
Paul Juda: I think during the whole Olympic experience we just had a lot of joy. We had a lot of of fun outside of those two hours of competition. So the competition in and of itself was kind of like a "mission critical," and we were pretty focused, but we still tried to keep it light.
On this, there's no real competition; we’re here to put on the best show possible for the audience. I can already see even just on the the two nights and three days that we've been here together, we've had a lot of fun. We're all best friends here, and we're going to bring that kind of energy to the stage.
CM: The last Gold Over America Tour was all women - and the theme was very much female empowerment, and girls as superheroes. Now that men are included, what can we expect from the show this time?
PJ: I think it's awesome (men are included) and I'm not even gonna lie, this tour just got, like, a million times better after making a medal. I'm really excited to get to do the show. It's going to be a lot of back and forth (between men and women). Yeah, we're doing some gymnastics; we're trying to learn a little bit of dancing. We've got lights, we've got a lot of songs, and we're bouncing off of each other's stories. There's going to be a lot of really fun, fun parts. (Note: Here's a preview.)
CM: Figure skating has shows like “Stars on Ice” that athletes can join after the Olympics to perform for audiences. Would you like to see something like that for gymnasts, who often don’t get to really “entertain” audiences?
PJ: Yeah, (in gymnastics) we use the human body to all of its maximum capability, and (learning) dance moves, I enjoy using a different side of my brain. I'm a guy who would also enjoy a musical or a Broadway show, just for the element of like, “Wow. Look at the choreography and how they're able to add the music and the lights and everything in the whole production.”
And then you couple it with the fact that we have extraordinary strength and flexibility and we can kind of do almost circus-like events, but then also add in a touch of difficulty - like "hey, okay, they're not just acrobats; they also spent 20 years doing this sport."
I feel like it's the ultimate show. It's some dance lights, some music, a storyline, you can watch your favorite athlete and then see him or her in a kind of different light. Now the athlete literally just gets to have fun out there. I wouldn't see why people wouldn't want to see more of this type of show.
CM: There’s so much buzz around gymnastics during the Olympics. How do you keep those fans interested the other three years in between, especially men’s gymnastics?
PJ: I'm hoping this tour does that, and I'm also confident, like anything that we do afterwards on the global stage (like "pommel horse guy" Stephen Nedoroscik competing on Dancing With the Stars), I hope people are like, "Oh yeah, I see them doing that. But I also remember they represent men's gymnastics."
Paul Juda on parallel bars for the University of Michigan team.Photo by John Cheng
Q: A lot of cast members are in college, including yourself (a graduate student), and you’re also captain of the University of Michigan Men’s Gymnastics team. How will you balance your studies and college athletics commitments while you’re on tour?
PJ: (He holds up a notebook with a calendar planner filled in.) This. I'm looking at my schedule today, I've got a weekly reflection. I've got a case to work on. I've got a data analytics assignment, a lecture to watch, and a reading quiz to do, so, it's a lot for sure.
Hopefully after this tour I can come back and be in a really good place with my team. I've left some excellent people in charge … phenomenal captains, and I have no doubt that they'll keep the team on pace, and if they need anything from me, they'll text me.
And on top of that, in terms of school, I think honestly, if anything, it’ll just keep me doing the right things. I got to go to bed early to wake up early and get some homework done, that's probably for the best. I’ll try to do some lectures on the tour bus and stuff.
Simone Biles had a record-breaking performance at the 2024 U.S. Gymnastics Championships in Fort Worth.
Photo by Elsa/Getty Images
CM:Fort Worth is where the last National Championships was held this past summer, and the reception in Houston - hometown of Simone Biles and adopted hometown of Jordan Chiles - will be nuts, too. What cities are you most looking forward to?
PJ: Chicago and Detroit are going to be my two main places. I've got a lot of people coming for the Detroit show from University of Michigan, and then Chicago, that’s where I'm from. Every time that I've visited Texas, I really enjoy Texas. We'll have a lot of fun. I'm excited to see the Texans come out and specifically in that Austin area, we've got a lot of people there.
CM: Well, don’t forget your cowboy hat.
PJ: Alright!
Note: This interview was edited for clarity and brevity. The Gold Over America Tour, presented by Athleta, will take place at 7 pm October 20 at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth. For more information and tickets (starting about $51), visit the website.
Paul Juda on parallel bars for the University of Michigan team.Photo by John Cheng
Simone Biles had a record-breaking performance at the 2024 U.S. Gymnastics Championships in Fort Worth.
Photo by Elsa/Getty Images