Directed and written by Ryan Coogler, Sinners (2025) is the best original movie I’ve seen in a long time. The film takes inspiration from Coogler’s uncle, and their shared love for blues music, to bring to life a story of many genres. With a blend of horror, thriller, and drama, this work of historical fiction tells the tale of twin brothers, Smoke and Stack — both played by Michael B. Jordan — who open a juke joint in 1930s Mississippi to get a fresh start from their troubled pasts.
Unsurprisingly, Jordan’s performance in Sinners was truly phenomenal. It’s not easy playing identical twins, but Jordan pulls it off so effectively that there were moments when I forgot each character was being played by one person. Both Smoke and Stack are distinctly entertaining with Smoke being serious, brooding, and badass and Stack being charming, outgoing, and persuasive.
A true dynamic duo, Jordan and Coogler have worked on five movies together including Fruitvale Station (2013), Creed (2015), Black Panther (2018) and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022), with Sinners being the most recent. As a long-time fan of most of the pair’s many projects, Sinners is by far my favourite.
Jordan and Coogler aren’t the only ones from the Black Panther series reuniting for this film. Composed by Ludwig Göransson, this movie’s score is a musical masterpiece. Having secured two Oscars for his work on Black Panther and Oppenheimer (2023), Göransson’s undeniable talent is my favourite part about Sinners. The score features various instruments used in blues music like the harmonica and even a classic 1932 Dobro guitar, which was used to write most of the score. In an interview with The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Coogler shared his beliefs on the importance of blues music.
“I realized that there’s an argument to be made that Delta blues music is America’s most important contribution to global popular culture. That music is in everything that we listen to [and] it’s in everything that we like today.”
Scenes where Sinners delves into horror feature more haunting instrumentals including an electric guitar, strings, and powerful orchestras. But the most impressive part about Göransson’s score has to be the way it perfectly encapsulates every aspect of this unique film. Everything from the characters’ struggles of living in the Jim Crow era in America, to the mystical longing of the movie’s vampiric villain, can be not only heard, but felt. Truly, the music in this film feels like its own character.
Outside of instrumentals, Sinners features a number of talented singers such as Lola Kirke, Jayme Lawson, and acclaimed blues artist, Buddy Guy. However, the star with the most insane vocals has got to be Miles Caton, who portrays Sammie, the twins’ little cousin. The up-and-coming star’s deep moving voice feels like it was simply made to sing the blues.
I could talk about the music in Sinners forever, but for the sake of time, I’ll move on to another enjoyable aspect of this film: its female characters. The two most notable are Mary, played by Hailee Steinfeld, and Annie, played by Wunmi Mosaku. An established celebrity, Steinfeld — known for Pitch Perfect 3 (2017) and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) — unsurprisingly delivers a moving performance as Stack’s fiercely passionate love interest.
Mosaku — known for Deadpool & Wolverine (2024) and Loki (2021-2023) — was no less impressive. In fact, (unless we’re counting the music as its own character) Annie was by far my favourite. The aspect I enjoyed most about her character was that she effortlessly took charge of tough situations and was deeply respected by the other characters. On another level, it was also refreshing to see a dark-skinned, plus-sized actress portray such a revered and respected love interest instead of just the funny best friend for a change.
The one thing keeping me from giving Sinners five stars is that some scenes were lacking in clarity. I’ve seen the film twice in theatres and there are still some moments when I struggle to understand what is being either said or implied — but hey, at least that gives me an excuse to go watch it again.
One of the best original screenplays I’ve ever seen, Sinners is ultimately a film about freedom. Set in a time where this concept was lacking, it invites viewers to reflect on the path they want to forge for themselves while also celebrating the historical roots of the blues and its crucial impact on modern music.
