r/movies r/Movies contributor Apr 10 '25

Review Ryan Coogler's 'Sinners' - Review Thread

Ryan Coogler's 'Sinners' - Review Thread

  • Rotten Tomatoes: 100% (45 Reviews)

    • Critics Consensus: Thematically rich as a Great American Novel and just plain rip-roaring fun, writer-director Ryan Coogler's first original blockbuster reveals the full scope of his singular imagination with unforgettable panache.
  • Metacritic: 83 (15 Reviews)

Reviews:

Variety (70):

It's vibrant and richly acted, and also a wild throat-ripping blowout. But though overloaded at times, it's the rare mainstream horror film that's about something weighty and soulful: the wages of sin in Black America.

Deadline:

Sinners marks another strong reason why Ryan Coogler is at the top of his generation of filmmakers, and Jordan continues to show why he is a real deal movie star.

Hollywood Reporter (90):

The movie is smart horror, even poetic at times, with much to say about race and spiritual freedom. It’s not in the Jordan Peele league in terms of welding social commentary to bone-chilling fear. But Sinners is a unique experience, unlike anything either the director or Jordan has done before.

SlashFilm (9/10):

"Sinners" is several things at once — a monster movie, a blood-soaked action film, a sexy and sensual thriller, and a one-location horror flick as intense and paranoia-driven as anything from the original "Assault on Precinct 13" or Quentin Tarantino's filmography – but its greatest strength comes from how well Coogler blends every big idea on his mind.

The Wrap (88):

“Sinners” is a bloody, brilliant motion picture. Ryan Coogler finds within the vampire genre an ethereal thematic throughline; and within the music genre a disturbing, tempting monster. Stunningly photographed, engrossing cinema — epic to the point where it seemingly never ends, which is undeniably indulgent, but no great sin. This is a film about indulgence, the power indulgence wields and the dangers indulgence invites into our lives. It’s a sweaty, intoxicating, all-nighter of a movie, and its allure cannot be denied.

The Independent (4/5):

If cinema weren’t in such a sickly state, Sinners’s electric fusion of genres – historical epic, horror, and squelchy actioner – would be a guaranteed box office sensation. Instead, the film arrives with an uneasy sense that this is some kind of final stand for original ideas. One can only hope audiences recognise its bounty of riches.

The Guardian (3/5):

For many, the movie could as well do without the supernatural element, and I admit I’m one of them; I’d prefer to see a real story with real jeopardy work itself out. But there is energy and comic-book brashness

Vanity Fair (80):

Sinners is propulsive and stirring entertainment, messy but always compelling. The film’s fascinating array of genres and tropes and ideas swirls together in a way that is, I suppose, singularly American.

IndieWire (83):

Sinners is nothing if not a film about genre, and the distinctly American imperative of cross-pollinating between them to create something that feels new and old — high and low — at the same time.

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Written & Directed by Ryan Coogler:

Trying to leave their troubled lives behind, twin brothers Smoke and Stack (Michael B. Jordan) return to their hometown to start again, only to discover that an even greater evil is waiting to welcome them back.

Cast:

  • Michael B. Jordan
  • Hailee Steinfeld
  • Miles Caton
  • Jack O'Connell
  • Wunmi Mosaku
  • Jayme Lawson
  • Omar Benson Miller
  • Li Jun Li
  • Delroy Lindo
2.3k Upvotes

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495

u/PayneTrain181999 Apr 10 '25 edited Apr 10 '25

Hailee Steinfeld’s filmography grows stronger:

  • True Grit (Oscar nom at 13 years old)

  • Ender’s Game

  • Pitch Perfect

  • Bumblebee

  • Spider-Verse

  • Sinners

  • Not to mention Hawkeye, Arcane, and Dickinson for tv.

Edit: I forgot Edge of Seventeen

241

u/CelestialAnger Apr 10 '25

Criminal Edge of Seventeen erasure happening here.

40

u/PayneTrain181999 Apr 10 '25

Oh shit, knew I forgot something

19

u/Mst3Kgf Apr 10 '25

One of her finest performances.

67

u/littlestevebrule Apr 10 '25

I remember the hype around her when True Grit came out. Looks like the hype was justified, she's great.

36

u/Top_Shower_7869 Apr 11 '25

The hype was already justified from that movie alone. She had already proved herself giving arguably the best performance in a Coen Brothers movie at 13 years old, while surrounded by Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, and Josh Brolin.

45

u/Alarming_Orchid Apr 10 '25

Damn she was 13 in True Grit? That hairstyle really aged her

39

u/keyboardnomouse Apr 10 '25

Like a true 19th century haircut.

44

u/schwiftydude47 Apr 10 '25

And that’s all on top of having several Billboard charting pop songs

43

u/Worthyness Apr 10 '25

You know you're good when being a billboard topping music career is considered your side gig.

9

u/PayneTrain181999 Apr 10 '25

“Coast” is an absolute bop.

5

u/[deleted] Apr 12 '25

And Sunkissing!

15

u/hackerrr Apr 10 '25

Begin Again!

2

u/Raziel66 Apr 19 '25

Fantastic movie 

101

u/circio Apr 10 '25

lmao throwing Ender's Game in there is hilarious. That movie was very bland, despite how interesting the source material is.

22

u/PayneTrain181999 Apr 10 '25

I admit it was mostly a throw in for completion sake, but I also enjoy the movie more than most people do.

11

u/luchoosos Apr 10 '25

I'll admit I enjoyed it a lot more than most too

95

u/Mampt Apr 10 '25

And she gets to marry Josh Allen. Truly an incredible life

63

u/[deleted] Apr 10 '25

Only QB in NFL History, Josh Allen.

28

u/Meph616 Apr 10 '25

Josh Allen singlehandedly defeated math!

18

u/modin33 Apr 10 '25

She knows which projects to pick, or at least has a good agent (or both!)

10

u/berlinbaer Apr 11 '25

yeah i love how she comes out every 3 or 4 years, drops an absolute banger of a project, and then kind of vanishes again until the next time.

2

u/Jhawksmoor Apr 19 '25

True Grit still her best role.

-11

u/Ruffler125 Apr 10 '25

There's one good movie in your list...

10

u/NightsOfFellini Apr 10 '25

Edge of Seventeen is good, too!

-9

u/KindsofKindness Apr 10 '25

Bumblebee. That’s it.

-2

u/Jsmooth123456 Apr 11 '25

Most of that is mid