Movie Review - Warner Bros.' Sinners

Dance with the devil.

Sinners is a 2025 period supernatural horror film directed by Ryan Coogler, written by Ryan Coogler, produced by Warner Bros. Pictures, Proximity Media, and Domain Entertainment, and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It stars Michael B. Jordan and Miles Caton.

"You keep dancing with the devil...one day, he's gonna follow you home." - Jedidiah

Plot

Twin brothers Elijah "Smoke" and Elias "Stack" Moore return home to 1930s Mississippi, where their infamous reputation lands them an opportunity to start a juke joint with everyone in town. However, as their opening night goes on, something sinister begins brewing outside the party.

The Sweet

Sinners was on my shortlist of most anticipated movies of the year, but I didn't end up including it. And what a fool I was to do that.

Oftentimes, early reactions to movies can overhype it and set expectations too high. Sinners opened with a 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, so it immediately caught everyone's attention. This has been talked about as the must-see movie of 2025...and it earns that title entirely.

It's almost difficult to judge a movie like this, because it feels like such a refreshing outlier in today's movie landscape. I have not seen Snow White or A Minecraft Movie, but the one-two punch of those movies have shown the current state of Hollywood. A ridiculed, cynical Disney live-action remake and a movie that is going to make a billion dollars because of how impressively dumb it is just shows that movies are at a low point in this day and age...and then comes this completely original, imaginative, amazing horror blockbuster that just knocks it out of the park.

I genuinely cannot remember the last time I saw a completely original movie in the theater that I loved this much. There are so few movies that aren't based on some previous IP that it just feels special when we get one that is this good. Sinners blends a ton of different genres and ideas, but somehow, it manages to get them to work like this beautiful, well-oiled machine. This movie can be classified as a period piece, a drama, a crime film, supernatural horror, action, music...all of these different elements and genres that I never knew could work so well together. All of this is also wrapped in this very interesting social commentary that flows naturally within the story and just gives it this great cherry on top.

With this movie, Ryan Coogler has officially proven himself to be in the top tier of directors working today. He's done Fruitvale Station, a devastating biographical account of the killing of Oscar Grant, and then he's worked on big franchise films. Sinners is his first truly original effort, and he gets so creative with the imagery and the color scheme and the costumes...everything is just so awesome. This is the type of movie that I hope is recognized when awards season comes around, because Coogler clearly poured his heart and soul into this project.

Speaking of awards season...Michael B. Jordan needs a frickin' Oscar nomination. No, he needs two Oscar nominations, because he gives two fantastic performances. He is just so cool in both of these roles. He has this truly magnetic aura that makes him so fun to watch, but he also does a great job of making Smoke and Stack feel like distinct, different characters. They each have their own personal ways of going about things and have these slight differences in personality that Jordan just nails. Beyond the fact that their costumes distinguish one from another, you can just tell who's who because of what Jordan does. He is amazing. I will be upset if he does not get an Oscar nod.

Arguably the best thing about Sinners are the characters. This screenplay is written with such precision that you understand who these characters are so naturally. Smoke and Stack are definitely the best characters in the movie, but Sammie, Mary, Annie, Slim, and Remmick are all just such good additions. Every character feels so rich with personality and backstory. Simple lines of dialogue hint at things about these characters without fully revealing what they are talking about, and it just adds such depth. With Smoke and Stack, for example, you understand who they are because of how people react to them and interact with them. Again, it's been a while since we've had an original movie with this good of a cast of characters. It's been a while since we've just had a movie with this good of a cast of characters.

I also love how well this story builds to the third act. The supernatural horror does not really kick in until the back half of the movie, but that's not really a problem. The first half is so much fun to watch because we are just getting enamored with this world and these characters, and the second half is filled with payoff, action, suspense...everything you want from a blockbuster horror action flick.

Period pieces are often some of the toughest films to pull off, because the period that your story takes place in really wraps the film in a specific time and vibe. Sometimes, when a period piece attempt is really feeble, it can knock the film back quite a bit. In the case of Sinners, it taking place during the Jim Crow era complements the story and makes for just an awesome addition to the film. The costumes, sets, dialogue, music...all of it immerses you in this Mississippi of 1932.

Finally, this movie has absolutely incredible music. This was a constant highlight from the early reviews, but a lot of this movie really deals with music. Both the score and the actual songs within the movie are toe-tapping romps that will have you bopping your head along without you even noticing. It's used so well to elevate whatever is happening on screen, and I just loved how much it added to the actual film.

The Sour

I don't really have much here. I have two minor, minor things that don't really detract from the movie at all. The first is that it takes a while to get to the supernatural horror side of things. This is not a huge deal, because these characters and this world are so enthralling, but if you are eagerly waiting for the horror, this may test your patience a little bit.

The second thing is not a knock on the movie itself, but more the marketing. Trailers are meant to give you a hint or the story, the characters, and the world. The first trailer for Sinners did a fantastic job of accomplishing just that. The second trailer, however, showed way too much. It started giving actual plot points and implying what the supernatural threat is (which I am not going to tell you guys even though at this point it's almost common knowledge) and that is just frustrating. I do not know why so many modern movie trailers spoil major plot points. And I'm a little sad that Sinners was a victim of that, too.

Final Thoughts and Score

Sinners is an absolutely incredible original film from Ryan Coogler, with a standout showcase from Michael B. Jordan and one of the most fun, thrilling, and impactful movie theater experiences of the 2020s.

I am going Sweet. Age range is 14+.

SWEET N' SOUR SCALE

Sweet (Great) Savory (Good)

Sour (Bad)

Moldy (Terrible)

"Sinners"

Fun Factor: 10/10

Acting: 9/10

Story: 9.5/10

Characters: 9.5/10

Quality: 9.5/10

Directed by Ryan Coogler

Rated R for strong bloody violence, frightening themes and images, language, sexual content, thematic elements

Released on April 18, 2025

2 hours and 17 minutes

Michael B. Jordan as Elijah "Smoke" Moore and Elias "Stack" Moore

Miles Caton as Sammie "Preacher Boy" Moore

Hailee Steinfeld as Mary

Jack O'Connell as Remmick

Wunmi Mosaku as Annie

Jayme Lawson as Pearline

Delroy Lindo as Delta Slim

Omar Benson Miller as Cornbread

Li Jun Li as Grace Chow

Yao as Bo Chow

Lola Kirke as Joan

Peter Dreimanis as Bert

David Maldonado as Hogwood

Saul Williams as Jedidiah Moore

Helena Hu as Lisa Chow Buddy Guy as Older Sammie Moore