Sinners

For years I've been emphasizing the importance of music in movies; how an amazing musical score can significantly elevate a movie. It shouldn't just be background dressing. It should be brought to the forefront. It should drive the story. It should be a character in itself. It should give you goosebumps in the big moments. Sinners is one of the best examples of this.

Aside from the music, I could tell I was watching high-quality filmmaking within five minutes. The directing, camerawork, editing, and sound design are pristine. The entire cast does a great job, but Michael B. Jordan shines. He is a superstar.

Sinners is also surprisingly funny, without taking away from the seriousness. And the horror elements are... satisfying. This movie goes hard.

Advice: Certain scenes have an expanded aspect ratio that will only be shown in IMAX. If you can't go to an IMAX, any premium screen will do (Dolby Cinema, UltraScreen, EMX, etc). This movie benefits more than most from the larger screen and louder speakers.

Also, I missed A LOT of the dialogue, you may want to ask for a closed caption device.

(1 viewing, opening night IMAX 4/17/2025)

I love it when movies mix different genres and create a fresh spin on old themes. In this case however the different elements didn't mix well in my opinion: I would describe sinners as a mix between period gangster drama, musical and trashy B-movie horror. This sounds super exciting on paper, but in reality it threw me off completely. I feel like the movie tries to do everything at the same time but doesn't deliver on many of those aspects: It wants to hit the viewer on an emotional level but left me personally completely cold - I didn't care who died or who lived; The movie kinda wants to be scary but the "enemies" in the film feel like a complete joke from the first scene they are shown and it takes away all the tension; It wants to be action-packed and explosive, but the fight scenes are kinda boring and left me wanting to move on to more serious scenes again, even though those serious scenes are kind of a slow burn; The film wants to be funny and even though it made me chuckle a bit it never really took it far enough to justify sacrificing the big threat in the film for laughs.

In conclusion: This movie is too boring and slow to be an entertaining action-comedy and doesn't take the humor and fight scenes far enough to really have an impact. At the same time this movie is far too ridiculous to be a serious scary and emotional movie that reaches you on any kind of emotional level.

I would have liked it, if they would have sacrificed the humor for building a serious threat that feels genuinely scary and terrifying. The cinematography, costumes and music are fantastic but this is just not enough for me to make it a good film, when the story is not hitting. There are single parts of the movie that I absolutely loved and I would have really appreciate those scenes as standalone music videos, but it just doesn't mix well with the rest in my personal opinion.

In addition to my previous criticisms I spotted some typical clichés in the dialogue writing that made me roll my eyes and there were some moments where I found it extremely hard to believe that certain characters survived. I could go in to detail here but I want to keep my review vague to avoid spoilers.

To me watching this movie felt a bit like eating chocolate on a burger - Both elements are nice by themselves but together they don't make for a nice meal.

Sinners isn't your typical horror. It's soaked in sweat, blues, and black excellence. Think 24 hours of beauty and chaos - where freedom feels close, but sin feels closer. Ryan Coogler didn't just direct a film, he built a vibe. The twins? Played by the same actor, but felt like two different souls. The performances? Hailee Steinfeld kiss, wow. Dialogue? Fast, slick, sharp - like a jazz solo that cuts through silence.

This film doesn't hold your hand. You gotta lean in, feel the room, and ride the rhythm. There's a message under the madness - about legacy, temptation, and the price of stepping outside the lines.

Now, the vampire thing? I won't lie - felt like a stretch. Stylish, sure, but I wasn't sold on the metaphor. Still, the film carries itself with so much black flavor and focus that you forgive the weird. One-takes were clean, the sound was spiritual, and the whole thing hums like an old jukebox with a soul of its own.

Sinners doesn't preach - it performs. And it leaves you wondering if maybe, just maybe... sin was the only freedom left.

The beginning, slow, introducing 'thousands' of characters, sets perfectly the mood; the use of music in the plot is great; the actors do a great job (even if I am not of a fan of the need for two Michael B. Jordans (even if he is a great actor); the action is well done.

Not all is perfect, though, as the characters behave erratically, suiting the necessities of the plot more than behaving coherently. The change of pace can also be jarring. And even if the movie is more than two hours long, you might feel more advantage could've been taken from the amazing set up. But with so great music, so good all the elements (direction, acting, photography...), you will probably not care. Ryan Coogler has done a very good movie.

Seeing a director have the courage to create a unique, visionary blend of two opposite genres is something you rarely see these days. And I love it. Southern America blues and vampires.

The standout here being the incredible soundtrack from no other than Ludwig Göransson. The sexy, bluesy tone is definitely my favourite thing of the film. It was the glue that kept the film going. The film was reminiscent of O'brother Where Art Thou with a healthy dose of From Dusk Till Dawn.

The patience in the first act to set up the thematic relationships and overall story was executed perfectly. Even though we all were expecting the "reveal" to come, the journey to get to that point was arguably the better part of the film.

What separates (and elevates) this film from your standard supernatural horror flick is the fact that the director chose to spend more time in the first act developing our and exploring our characters.

However, in saying this I do feel like the film in the end of the second and entire third act fell into the cliches that they vampire genre usually entails. The last minute sunrise for example or the character who knows all the ins-and-outs of killing a vampire.

I believe at this point the film lost a bit of spark that the first act patiently created.

I still love what Coogler did. The unique genre blend, soundtrack and setting is enough to warrant the praise.

Best film of 2025?