Sicario 2: Day of the Soldado (2018) (1 Viewer)

[Jake Lipson]

USA Today just posted a new trailer, and the film has undergone another title change.

It's now "Sicario: Day of the Soldado." A moderator might wish to alter the title of the thread accordingly.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/life...neak-peek-benicio-del-toro-returns/427174002/

 

[Sam Posten]

So moved!

 

[Jake Lipson]

That being said, I do think the new title is pretty dumb and doesn't make much sense. I suspect that Taylor Sheridan probably wanted to keep it as "Soldado," which is what he's always referred to it as, but Sony wanted something that would allow them to keep "Sicario" as part of the name, so that the fact that it is a sequel is plainer. This is all speculation on my part, but it would make sense.

Why they just didn't keep the former "Sicario 2: Soldado" is an open question. I'm trying to remember if there has been a movie before that has actually changed the title after the first trailer was released. I can't think of one.

 

[Jake Lipson]

 

[Sam Posten]

LOVE that!

 

[Edwin-S]

The first one had rules?

 

[George_W_K]

The first one had rules?

Came here to say the same thing. Haha

 

[Jake Lipson]

 

[Jake Lipson]

Wouldn't it have made more sense to debut this trailer last week, when it could have run in front of a major R-rated adult-oriented blockbuster featuring one of the same stars?

I really hope this movie does well, but as it is sandwiched in between the opening weekends of new Jurassic World and Ant-Man installments, I'm afraid it could get overlooked. It's also Taylor Sheridan's first movie that is *not* receiving a limited platform rollout. Although I'll be happy to see it sooner than if it expanded slowly, I wonder if that approach might actually be better for it, especially bumping up against the blockbusters.

 

[Jeff Cooper]

While Benicio Del Toro's 'Adios' method of firing the gun sure looks cool on screen, I'm struggling to find a real life tactical reason for doing so. Aim and stability is severely compromised, it's just as quick to fire normally, and surely in the situation he's in with the target on the ground, rapid fire is not necessary.

 

[TravisR]

While Benicio Del Toro's 'Adios' method of firing the gun sure looks cool on screen, I'm struggling to find a real life tactical reason for doing so. Aim and stability is severely compromised, it's just as quick to fire normally, and surely in the situation he's in with the target on the ground, rapid fire is not necessary.

Maybe it's like Jules in Pulp Fiction when he says how "I just thought it was some cold-blooded shit to say to a motherfucker before I popped a cap in his ass."

 

[joshEH]

"Only in Theaters"?

What is this, 1953?

 

[Jake Lipson]

"Only in Theaters"?

Well, at least it's going to theaters at all.

After Lionsgate decided to drop the movie, which they greenlit since they released the original Sicario, there was a rumor that Netflix wanted it before Sony bought it instead of them.

Had Netflix gotten their hands on it, it would have essentially become a TV movie.

I'm very glad and relieved that it didn't go there, because I really want to see it in the theater and buy a Blu-ray of it to go on my shelf next to the original, which Netflix would have refused to ever release in the name of exclusivity.

Lionsgate dropping it didn't make sense to me then and still doesn't. Deadline said something at the time that it was due to a disagreement with producer Black Label Media, but I don't understand how a studio could greenlight something and pay for it and then disagree about releasing it. (Only the Brave, which Sony picked up from Black Label Media in the same deal and released last year, was affected too.)

Lionsgate isn't exactly overflowing with franchises at the moment -- The Hunger Games is over, Divergent fell off a cliff and didn't finish, and even Tyler Perry has a deal with Paramount for future films. Even though Sicario didn't come out designed as a franchise starter, it became one when they greenlit the sequel and was a success for them. So I'm still a little surprised that Lionsgate didn't want to keep it. No sweat off my back having it go to Sony, but it just doesn't make sense.

 

[George_W_K]

So just saw a commercial for this during the NBA Finals and it appears it'll be Del Toro going against Brolin to protect a girl who saw something she shouldn't have?

I hope not.

 

[Jake Lipson]

I don't really know any more than the trailers show, but at this point I trust Taylor Sheridan. I've liked everything he's written so far and see no reason currently not to expect this to meet his usual quality standards.

 

[TonyD]

The previews I’ve seen especially the last one are making this seem like it’s supposed to be funny.

 

[George_W_K]

I didn't pick up that vibe.

I just watched Sicario again yesterday and I like it more everytime I watch it. I think my expectations may be a little high just based on how I feel about the first.

 

[Jake Lipson]

I think my expectations may be a little high just based on how I feel about the first.

Me too. It's a different director, who I'm not familiar with with, because Denis Villenevue was busy making Arrival and Blade Runner 2049. But Taylor Sheridan wrote both, and I don't think he would have come back unless he thought he had something new and valuable to say. The way he ended the first on certainly dos not have a huge cliffhanger or tease a sequel explicitly, so I don't think he was writing it expecting it to be a franchise starter, although it turned into one.

This is a different set of expectations than what you're talking abut, but I wonder what Sony expects this film to do, box office-wise. The first one is well=liked by a lot of film fans whosaw it, but topped out at a domestic gross of $46 million, which is good for the budget range that it had but certainly isn't an enormous number. Sony is being much more aggressive with the marketing of this one, and they're giving it a wide release straightaway, whereas Lionsgate took the first one out on a platform basis.

It's also worth noting that, looking at its placement on the calendar, this one is being released smack dab in between Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom and Ant-Man and the Wasp. I'm sure Sony does not expect this to be a #1 hit. It will attempt to be counterprogramming for adult audiences who aren't interested in dinosaurs. But what number do they expect it to hit?

Because Lionsgate greenlit the sequel before dropping out of distributing it, I'm not sure how much Sony actually invested in the film, other than obviously doing the releasing and marketing costs. But I hope it meets whatever their expectations are for it, because I know Taylor Sheridan has now said he has ideas for a third film. Presumably, Sony would likely have greenlight authority on that, or at least the right of first refusal. If they don't end up wanting to do a third one, though, I don't really know the odds of a third distributor picking up the third film in a trilogy, since it seems rare enough for franchises to jump distributors once.

So, I'm hoping it does well enough to earn the third that Taylor Sheridan wants to do. I'm super-excited to see it.

 

[TonyD]

I don’t mean a laugh out loud funny but funny in the way War Dogs is a comedy.

It’s just what I get from the latest preview.

Never saw the first one so I have no comparison to it.

 

[Jake Lipson]

Never saw the first one so I have no comparison to it.

You really should. It's fantastic. Very much worth a rental, especially if you are planning to see this one.