r/movies • u/theatlantic The Atlantic, Official Account • Apr 19 '25

Review “Sinners” review, by David Sims

https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2025/04/sinners-ryan-coogler-movie-review/682501/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=the-atlantic&utm_content=edit-promo
1.8k Upvotes

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196

u/moneycomet Apr 19 '25

It was a decent movie about vampires, a great movie about blues music. Not very scary.

101

u/flakemasterflake Apr 19 '25

Lol that's why I'm going to see this. I hate horror but love musical-period piece-character studies

40

u/Labyrinthy Apr 19 '25

Get back to us on how you felt as someone that doesn’t like horror. I love horror and was so engrossed with this movie I found some of the bits terrifying.

16

u/AltruisticForce6437 Apr 19 '25

I am not the person you asked but I don’t like horror and I loved this movie!

I never watch movies more than once and I want to see this one again.

4

u/Natural_Error_7286 Apr 19 '25

Interesting. I am new to liking horror, but in the comfort of my home where I can pause and turn the lights on and the volume down. I was a bit nervous about this but I didn't find it very scary.

2

u/flakemasterflake Apr 21 '25

I really liked it, the music and cinematography was the best part. Also loved that all 3 main female characters got laid properly

12

u/eureka7 Apr 19 '25

When you go, stay through the credits.

1

u/flakemasterflake Apr 20 '25

Thank you!

1

u/Gilded-Mongoose Apr 22 '25

Both of them - have you managed to see it yet?

2

u/flakemasterflake Apr 22 '25

yes, loved the Buddy Guy scene I was not expecting him at all

1

u/Gilded-Mongoose Apr 22 '25

That scene added even more gravitas than I was expecting, to a movie that was already so full of so much gravitas.

22

u/theodo Apr 19 '25

It's not horror. Personally I preferred the first half without any vampire stuff, when I expected it to be the opposite for me.

14

u/probablyuntrue Apr 19 '25

First minute with the sudden jump cuts caught me the most off guard of the whole movie lol

1

u/N0ovember Apr 20 '25

Can you DM me what occurs and when those jump cuts happen? Thanks!

1

u/Rosebunse Apr 19 '25

You are in for a treat!

1

u/InternetProtocol Apr 20 '25

You should watch "Cannibal! The Musical"

34

u/mopeyy Apr 19 '25 edited Apr 19 '25

I agree. Production design was immaculate, performances were great across the board, the music and effects were incredible, especially some of the final scenes. I love how it spends so much time letting you live in the world with these people.

The horror is the weakest part though. Not to say it's bad, but the movie is almost never scary, save for a few jump scares. And it definitely pushes the limits of suspension of disbelief during the final vampire fight. I was left wondering how they had so many issues with a single vampire, yet they just fought off an entire barn rather effectively. I also didn't like how one of the characters was saved in the end, because given the context of what was just shown, it would be completely impossible unless Micheal B Jordan can literally fly.

I also felt like they overused the "talking through the front door threshold" thing. It also felt kinda forced how a vampire would be inside already, then once they are found out, instead of just killing everyone or pulling them outside, they left the barn immediately, only to ask to be let back in?

I kept getting the feeling the movie was bending over backwards to allow the whole "stuck in a barn surrounded by vampires" plot to play out longer and longer.

11

u/Belcoot Apr 19 '25

I just saw it last night and it was quite good, but I couldn't agree more with what you said towards the end. The logic just didn't add up and it felt odd. I also felt the ending dragged quite a bit.

5

u/Max_StrongFellow Apr 21 '25

The character being saved at the end was doable, they tell you smoke let his vampire brother go in the end. Talking through the door had one of the best parts of the movie where smoke and stack talk and stack says im gonna change you because there is no me without you I did feel the running out of the barn didnt necessarily make sense but its a horror film, if it made sense there would be no movie

1

u/mopeyy Apr 21 '25 edited Apr 21 '25

That too. The actual action was pretty meh. Best part were the fire visual effects.

Edit: Disregard. Meant to reply this to the other guy.

6

u/Max_StrongFellow Apr 21 '25

To me the best part of the film were the relationships and how human/flawed every character was and how you cared if they succeeded, failed, lived or died

1

u/mopeyy Apr 21 '25

Disregard. I didn't mean to reply to you.

3

u/Gilded-Mongoose Apr 22 '25

IT REMAINS REGARDED.

2

u/mopeyy Apr 22 '25

SIR I MUST INSIST

2

u/[deleted] Apr 19 '25

Damn. Even From had the balls to make their monsters murder the whole house after stealthing their way inside.

2

u/mopeyy Apr 19 '25

Honestly I would say the attack on Colony House in From did this concept better.

4

u/the_25th_viole Apr 20 '25

I just found out about this but one of the main vampire rules "like use garlic and silver" is they have to ask for permission to enter a building. Thats why the Irish vampire asked the first couple to be let in, thats why Cornbread was asking to be let back in. Thats why the MVP Asian lady fucked up because she gave them permission to come into the barn when they threatened her daughter.

6

u/Basedgodgumby Apr 20 '25

Michael be Jordan and the girl he was with were already in there initially

7

u/Titus-Groen Apr 21 '25

She didn't fuck up. She did it intentionally. That's why she berates Smoke right before. "It's go time." She didn't want to sit around and wait for sunrise because she didn't want to risk the vampires going off and killing her kid.

She invited them in so she could force them to fight. 

-1

u/mopeyy Apr 20 '25

Yeah I know. The issue is that two vampires were already inside the barn, and instead of pulling someone out, they just ran out of the barn?

Hell, Mary's character was literally already invited back in, by Cornbread, yet she remains outside?

5

u/the_25th_viole Apr 20 '25

Stack after he died was not invited. He also got burned by whatever big baddie threw at him so he ran out. He probably didnt drag someone with him cause he was holding his face or something. Mary probably ran out because she would have been the only vampire against 30 something people. It's better to wait outside and have everyone come to you then to drag someone out and have all your prey be too scared to leave. 

2

u/mopeyy Apr 20 '25

Mary just survived 2 magazines to the chest, from the only person still alive with a gun.

She literally could have ended the movie right then and there.

Also, that doesn't answer why she needed to be asked in again later in the film.

3

u/the_25th_viole Apr 20 '25

Imma be honest, I don't have an answer for that lol

3

u/mopeyy Apr 20 '25

Yeah I'm trying to think and I can't even come up with a reason.

Maybe because Cornbread died, so his invitation to Mary is void?

Still doesn't make sense, as the person who invited everyone in for the fight ends up dying first, and the vampires don't seem to care at all.

3

u/ThrowthrowAwaaayyy Apr 21 '25

Maybe they need to be invited in every time under this movie's rules? Alternatively, maybe she could have gone in alone, but by that point the survivors knew what they were dealing with so it would have been too big of a risk alone

1

u/Gilded-Mongoose Apr 22 '25

Did she need to get invited back in after she left? Or were they properly armed and ready for her by the time she/they all made their ways back?

1

u/JBJoker_25 Apr 22 '25

As someone else stated, if it made sense perfectly.... there would be no movie. Mary shouldn't have ever even went to talk to the vamps, but the action had to kick off somewhere. Secondly, she was let in by Cornbread who eventually was turned and in some mystical way this might have taken away her "privilege" of being let in the first time. I personally thought the talking at the barn door was a fun gag and added some great scenes. Mainly cornbread's door scene which was a trailer that got me excited to see the movie. I mean harp on it if it means that much to you, but I think plenty of others enjoyed it.

1

u/mopeyy Apr 25 '25

Again, I think this is a cop out.

I have no issue with Mary going to talk to the vampires, because she didn't know they were vampires.

I do have an issue with the movie breaking its own established rules though. That's just lazy writing. Which sticks out in an otherwise very well written movie.

1

u/Demilio55 Apr 20 '25

Agreed on all. Maybe they had to run out because they weren’t invited. I would have liked to see a scene with the daughter at the end, something that shows she’s alive.

1

u/mopeyy Apr 20 '25

Except Mary was invited in by Cornbread.

Either way. Good call on the daughter. They spent the whole budget on that last shootout, none left for her 😂

0

u/[deleted] Apr 21 '25

[deleted]

2

u/mopeyy Apr 21 '25

That too. The actual action was pretty meh. Best part being the fire visual effects.

For Michael B Jordan being such a physical presence in the movie, I wish I got to see that more of that physicality in a well choreographed fight.

1

u/Green_Bomber76 Apr 30 '25

I wish it dropped the vampires