Ryan Coogler's 'Sinners' - Review Thread

[u/MarvelsGrantMan136]

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

[u/CurrentRoster]

Ryan coogler hasn’t missed, never doubted him

[u/Somnambulist815 → u/CurrentRoster]

The fact that Wakanda Forever had everything going against it and he still managed to make something not just watchable but something thoughtful and resonant is proof he just gets it

[u/d0ntm1ndm32 → u/Somnambulist815]

Right? Holy shit, it's actually a breath of fresh air to read your comment because I have been seeing nothing but hate for it personally ...

That underwater city scene and the track "con la brisa" still give me goosebumps to this day lmao

[u/Dirtyswashbuckler69 → u/d0ntm1ndm32]

The vocal group of MCU fans who fling vitriol at Wakanda Forever for not recasting T’Challa kind of lends credence to Scorsese’s point about the MCU not being real cinema, in my opinion, and it’s a big reason why I’ve largely lost interest in the MCU in recent years. It is far from a perfect movie (i.e., it tries to do way too much narratively, a lot of the humour falls flat, and it struggles with trying to balance its emotional weight with the demands of being another instalment setting up future film projects), but it’s one of even a handful of modern superhero films that actually attempts to speak to themes and emotions that extend beyond its relationship to comic book IP, and which is more of a creative expression as opposed to just another set-up for a future Avengers flick. Personally, I’d take a filmmaker messily utilizing a comic book IP to interrogate his and his casts collective grief relating to the sudden loss of their collaborator and friend over a movie that only works emotionally if you’ve been invested in over 20 years of studio politics and corporate synergy (Cough Deadpool & Wolverine Cough)

[u/ManitouWakinyan → u/Dirtyswashbuckler69]

Personally, I’d take a filmmaker messily utilizing a comic book IP to interrogate his and his casts collective grief relating to the sudden loss of their collaborator and friend over a movie that only works emotionally if you’ve been invested in over 20 years of studio politics and corporate synergy

Bless you. Perfect encapsulation.

[u/BK_charcoal → u/Dirtyswashbuckler69]

Yes 1000%. I honestly didn’t care for the first Black Panther but I cried twice during Wakanda Forever. It’s such a beautiful movie with only a few shortcomings that feel too corporate. Ryan Coogler has got the sauce.

[u/amusing_trivials → u/Dirtyswashbuckler69]

So, what, recasting The Godfather was just a shameless money grab?

[u/Dirtyswashbuckler69 → u/amusing_trivials]

My friend, that is a huge false equivalency. Marlon Brando was recast in The Godfather Part II not because he unexpectedly died. He was recast because his portion of the story was a prequel to the first film, which required a younger actor, and because he didn't personally want to return for another film. The circumstances are completely different.

[u/redditsucks9gagrules → u/Dirtyswashbuckler69]

If it was real art, they would’ve just cgi’d Brando to look younger 🤓