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By Billie Melissa
Contributing Entertainment Writer
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Mississippi 1932. The air is thick, the landscape breathtaking, and Ryan Coogler drops us in the middle of it all as a young Sammie (Miles Caton) wanders, haunted, into his preacher father's congregation.
He has a broken guitar neck in hand. His face is dripping with fear. We'll get to spend the next 137 minutes finding out what he's seen, and we will bask in every single second of it.
Coogler's Sinners is the best film of the year so far. 2025 is yet to have that one box office hit which has people tripping over their tongues to praise, but it has arrived, and every inch of it is as arresting as the last.
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Ludwig Göransson's hypnotic score is the first thing we fall in love with. It dominates the film's opening, luring us into the heat and seduction Coogler crafted so carefully in that steaming southern state with a history that runs deep for the people whose stories we'll learn.
Coogler's magic mind is all over every frame, evident in how each department has put on their best show. From Hannah Beachler with the production design to Ruth E. Carter's gorgeous textured costumes and Autumn Durald Arkapaw's visionary cinematography capturing it all, Sinners is a masterclass in how a director communicates their vision to their crew to – not just tell a story but – create a world.
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Of course, Michael B. Jordan is the heart of this world. Coogler and Jordan's chemistry keeps on delivering. This time, Jordan takes on a new challenge. He plays both Smoke and Stack, twin brothers who have returned to the south from Chicago with dreams of opening a juke joint.
Jordan is utterly captivating, giving not just one but two of the best performances we've seen so far this year. The dual role shtick can be gimmicky, but there's no room to soak in that they're both Jordan due to how distinct he makes each brother. That's also a credit to Coogler's screenplay. Both Smoke and Stack have their own motivations, separate things driving them that make it easy for Jordan to pull from every page in his actor playbook.
While Smoke and Stack are the stars, the ensemble cast is awe-inspiring.
Many narratives run through Sinners. Some are more subtle than others, but each actor understood the assignment and delivered dutifully.
Miles Caton, Jayme Lawson, Andrene Ward-Hammond, Hailee Steinfeld, Delroy Lindo, Li Jun Li, Wunmi Mosaku, Sam Malone, Omar Miller – every one of them sparkled throughout, making Sinners the exquisite feat that it is.
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People get their back up about movies that linger for longer than two hours, so some may (wrongfully) be dissuaded seeing the runtime, but if you need convincing, the handy work of Michael P. Shawver's edit has the film breezing by. You wish it'd linger longer.
Coogler said in a recent interview he wants audiences to feel like they "had a full meal" and hoped we could tell just how much the cast and crew care about the medium of film.
There is no doubt that each person who left a little of themselves in Sinners cares about delivering high-quality art. Coogler also said in that same interview his cast and crew "all care about seeing movies on a big screen" and that they know "what it feels like when you see a good one." The energy in Sinners makes you want to lean in a little closer. It leaves you shaking your head in awe, wondering just how they did it.
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What a world it would be if every filmmaker cared the way Coogler does.
Not only is it a cinematic feast, it's a thoughtful study. There are layers for you to pull back that I imagine only become more pertinent the more times you revisit it.
Sinners is going to be a hit, and if it isn't, we are failing to honor great work from exciting storytellers, and what a miserable world it'd be if we didn't get more films like this.
Also, stick around for the whole length of the credits. It's worth it.
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