"Sinners" Review: One of 2025's most unique offerings

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In 2018, Ryan Coogler brought the beautiful cinematic world of Wakanda to life in Black Panther, a film that was inspired by the Marvel comics. In 2025, Coogler has created a new world as well in Sinners but this time, the world is completely of his own creation as Coogler wrote and directed the feature. 

Coogler’s long-time collaborator Michael B. Jordan (who previously collaborated with the director on Fruitvale Station, Creed and Black Panther) stars here as twin brothers Smoke and Stack. The brothers plan to launch a juke joint for the local black community in a small town in Mississippi.  While Stack is cautious and thoughtful, Smoke is tougher and quick-tempered — willing to shoot anyone who might be trying to steal his truck.

The first hour of the feature focuses on the twins recruiting a team for the juke joint while catching up with some old flames. While Stack begrudgingly reunites with former girlfriend Mary (Hailee Steinfeld), Smoke happily rekindles a romance with his former partner Annie (Wunmi Mosaku). To assist on opening night at their new business, the twins bring in their cousin Sammie (Miles Caton) as entertainment while locals Delta Slim (Delroy Lindo), Cornbread (Omar Benson Miller) and Grace Chow (Li Jun Li) are also recruited in to help out.

On opening night, things take a dramatic turn when a white musician named Remmick (Jack O'Connell) and his clan appear, longing to be invited into the facility. From there, Coogler’s feature takes a number of dramatic and supernatural turns. It’s best to watch the film without knowing all of the chaos that  transpires after the tense standoff between Remmick and the twins.    

The first half of the movie only hints at what is to come but that hour also does a great job introducing the twins and a number of supporting characters. Michael B. Jordan does an incredible job in the duel leading roles and each of the early scenes reveals something about them and the individuals they recruit. When opening night goes sideways, it’s easy to care about the players involved because Coogler has already methodically introduced them.

The scenes in the juke joint are some of the film’s highlights and showcase Coogler’s talent as a filmmaker. He balances out the characters here, often gliding the camera from one individual to the next to capture the joy and excitement of the event. In the film’s most captivating sequence, Sammie’s magical voice and the visuals Coogler presents on the dance floor capture a truly remarkable event that sets the stage for what transpires in the second act.     

Sinners stands out as one of the year’s most powerful features in that it blends genres while also creating a unique cinematic footprint.

Coogler brings his vision to life here with strong results. He has surrounded himself with fellow artists who bring their great talents to life in this singular and captivating feature. From Michael B. Jordan, who balances between his two characters flawlessly, to composer Ludwig Göransson and costume designer Ruth E. Carter, the feature relies on its remarkable cast and crew to create something truly unique. It will be thrilling to see where Coogler goes from here but this feature shows how capable he is of crafting something completely his own.