A non-trivial vampire story about the desire for freedom and music. Review of the film Sinners

Director Ryan Coogler, with his first feature film, the drama Fruitvale Station about the last day of the life of a real person Oscar Grant, loudly declared his talents. He skillfully works with genre cinema, always harmoniously combining interesting topics with general issues of racial oppression. The output is worthy of attention.

Coogler is not particularly in a hurry with new films, so since 2018 we have only seen two parts of Black Panther from him. But the director was finally able to break away from the corporate machine of Marvel to shoot something original. And Sinners may well become Coogler's most outstanding work, because not every work of art is able to give such an emotional uplift. Vampire legends turn out to be only the first layer of a complex and multifaceted story, which nevertheless remains true to Coogler's ideals and views.

Twin brothers Smoke and Stack (both played by Michael B. Jordan) return to their small hometown from the big city of Chicago, where they were looking for a better life. Having received money and resources, the brothers want to open their own establishment in the place where they grew up. Smoke and Stack seek support from acquaintances so that the grand opening at the converted sawmill will be grandiose, and the workers here will feel free at least somewhere. At the same time, an evil lurks in the city that is determined to ruin the plans of the main characters and change their lives forever.

The trailers do not hide that the main characters will have to fight off vampires in the setting of the southern United States of the 1930s. This is the main hook with which the audience is visually hooked and lured into the cinema. But in fact, vampires are far from the main thing in Sinners. Coogler uses many themes and narrative devices to demonstrate the sad fate of black people in times when slavery and racism seemed to have disappeared, but still influenced reality, society and the hearts of individuals. The director did it absolutely brilliantly.

The theme of racism is present in all of Coogler's works, but it is Sinners that can be called his Magnum opus. Or the peak of the director's thoughts on racial inequality and their presentation. Without unnecessary polemics, but carefully and mercilessly, the film immerses itself in the problems of black people, demonstrates the nuances of oppression that will forever leave its mark on them. So Sinners is also an excellent period drama, something on the level of Martin Scorsese's Killers of the Flower Moon. Or at least just a work that is as close as possible to the work of the cinematographic mastodons.

The cinematic style of the film contributes to such conclusions. Sinners looks unsurpassed and does not shy away from interesting visual tricks. The film became the only one in 2025 that was made specifically for IMAX screens. The next work of this level should be The Odyssey by Christopher Nolan, so such a film is released in cinemas not every month. The film crew successfully juggles ordinary scenes and the IMAX format to cause genuine delight of the audience. Such a technical detail as changing the aspect ratio, in Coogler's skillful hands turns into a narrative tool. Another sign of his unique talent.

However, sometimes it seems that the director is trying too hard to impress the audience so that after watching them they actively write about Sinners on social networks, something like "absolute cinema". Because of this, some banal scenes of not very important dialogues or simple walking of the characters are sometimes supplemented with excessive sound design and visual effects. It is as if Coogler wants you not to think for a moment that anything in Sinners can be simple.

This is despite the fact that at the level of characters and their motives the story operates with rather mundane concepts, and only then, as the story develops, Coogler and the team do something complex and almost unfathomable with them. On the other hand, the basis of the story and some individual plot lines will definitely find a response in the heart of every viewer. Too much is mixed in the script – and this is a rare case when each theme receives a worthy embodiment.

In addition to the already mentioned racial oppression, Sinners tells about the strange power of family ties, self-realization through creativity that overcomes times and ideologies, naivety and the power of love, the absurd tragedy of death and much more. There was even a place for obscene half-jokes about sex. Here, the screenwriters seemed to have gone too far with them, but they can also be attributed to the peculiarities of the time period chosen for the story.

Michael B. Jordan has appeared in all of Coogler's works, but the main role in Sinners - that is, two main roles at once - could definitely be the pinnacle of the star's acting skills. Stack and Smoke can't be confused just by their gait and the construction of phrases. But to make it even easier for the audience, Coogler gave the main characters hats of different colors. Smoke - blue, Stack - red. And the colors will also say a lot about the protagonists.

While watching Sinners you can laugh, cry, think actively and feel a powerful spiritual uplift, as if the film does not just touch some strings of the soul, but goes through absolutely everything inside. And the music in the film is so magical that it will appeal to people who are far from blues and country music. Right in the middle of the film, Coogler inserted a scene that is quite capable of being the finale of the conditional La La Land. However, even after such a catharsis, the film crew will still find something to surprise you with.

Yes, if you want, you can criticize the behavior of some characters and the general logic of certain moments. But such discussions will be reduced to details and trifles, which will only prove that Sinners undoubtedly attracts attention and encourages you to immerse yourself in the events on the screen. This is an outstanding film, without undue modesty, a masterpiece that will definitely go down in history.

And Sinners will definitely be a good litmus test when some people start criticizing the film for its cast and thematic foundation. Unfortunately, there is almost no doubt about this. And here it is worth wondering why such viewers watch movies in the first place.