SINNERS (2025) Review

Review

This week Ryan Coogler returns to cinemas with his first film since 2022’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. His first entirely original concept, Sinners strips away the superhero spectacle and returns to the raw, intimate character studies that defined his early work. What emerges is a tightly wound moral thriller that asks difficult questions about redemption, justice, and the ghosts we can never truly outrun.

The film once again reunites Coogler with Michael B. Jordan who has starred in every one of his theatrical releases. Here Jordan plays the dual role of twin brothers Smoke and Stack. Having be subject to childhood trauma at the hands of their father, the brothers escaped first to war and then to work alongside Al Capone on the streets of Chicago. In 1932 the twins return to their home of Clarksdale, Mississippi, to open a juke joint they hope will bring new life to the townsfolk.

There’s a beautiful journey to Sinners across its 137 minute runtime. Coogler sidesteps convention at almost every turn ensuring the film is never an outright horror. Neither is it purely a supernatural drama. The film beautifully mangles together aspects of both with comedy and even musical elements. The results of which are a uniquely original cocktail that is electric to watch unfold. You’ll struggle to know whether to be terrified, amused or sing along. All whilst Coogler’s potent script challenges racial divides and provides a self-aware level of social commentary that easily leaves the audience with plenty to contemplate.

With that in mind the first act is almost completely taken up by introducing the cast. Whilst the opening scene focusses on Sammie (Miles Caton), its tease of the film’s horrors are parked when we jump back a full day. Coogler frames the introduction of each of the supporting cast around the twins. Their mission to open the joint causes them to recruit Sammie, their cousin and a promising blues musician. Then there’s veteran bluesman and alcoholic Delta Slim (Delroy Lindo), old friend Cornbread (Omar Benson Miller) and local shopkeepers Grace and Bo Chow (Li Jun Li and Yao). The introduction of each feels understated. They’re matter of factly just pieces of the puzzle in putting together the juke joint.

Then there’s Mary (Hailee Steinfeld) and Annie (Wunmi Mosaku). A powerhouse duo of female leads, each with a connection to one of the twins. Annie, seemingly an expert in the dark arts, is a former flame of Smoke with whom she has a tragic past. Whilst Mary, a childhood friend of both boys and Stack’s ex, has returned to town for the funeral of her mother.

There’s a long stretch of time which is dedicated purely to world building. Coogler is painstaking in putting the pieces together proving his place as one of our most vital contemporary filmmakers. With Sinners Coogler elevates his filmmaking to Nolan-esque proportions. It’s perfectly paced, consistently building to moments of grand payoff. It’s playful approach to the use of IMAX is just another example of how Sinners is an auteur creation through-and-through with no sign of studio interference.

At the centre of the film is an intoxicating musical sequence set in the dimly lit juke joint. It serves to visualise the film’s emotional core and its stylistic showcase. Coogler orchestrates a breathtaking collision of musicians and dancers spanning different eras in a scene that completely defies convention. The sequence unfolds around a hypnotic blues beat, layered with flourishes of jazz improvisation and hip-hop rhythms. Cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw‘s camera moves with the dancers, alternating between fluid tracking shots that capture the collective energy of the room and intimate close-ups that reveal individual stories written in sweat and expression. As the hypnotic beats reach an crescendo, Coogler achieves something rare—a moment where the technical brilliance of filmmaking dissolves completely into pure, visceral experience.

Transcendent as it may be, the moment catches the attention of Remmick (Jack O’Connell) and sends the twins and their assembled guests on a path to destruction. Remmick has only been glimpsed once at this point. But his character quickly escalates to villain status when his true colours re revealed. It’s testament to Coogler’s creative control that Sinners demonic vampires don’t fully emerge until well past the one hour mark. But when they do these creatures are of course both feral and lethal. But they also represent a though provoking counterpoint to the culture in Clarksdale. Coogler symbolises this through another strongly defined set of values underpinned by traditional Irish music.

In its final act Sinners begins to struggle under the weight of its already busy plot. By definition the film needs to bring a satisfying conclusion to its vampiric villains. That means an epic fight sequence which plays with IMAX formatting in an Avengers-style, fist-pumping way. But just as it seems that the story has reached a natural conclusion there’s still more oil in the tank. In fact there are multiple endings stacked on top of each other. All followed up by both a mid and post-credit scenes. It takes a lot to wrap up Sinners. But it also took a lot to make Sinners so it seems only fair to allow Coogler the time to wrap things up exactly how he wants.

Verdict

Sinners demolishes all expectations. Ryan Coogler breathes new, original and unique life in to the vampire genre. The script is defiant, daring to bring comedy to tragedy and its musicality is unparalleled.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐