Ever since Sinners was released in theaters, it’s been getting a lot of attention. A new film pairing Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan leading to success is no surprise, as they consistently put out quality work together, but there’s something about this one that seems to be extra special. I finally got around to seeing Sinners on the big screen, so let’s dive in to see if it’s worth all the hype or if it bit off more than it can chew.

Spoilers for Sinners are ahead.

The Good

What’s immediately noticeable with Sinners is how gorgeous it looks. It’s shot incredibly well and the cinematography is top-notch. Every shot looks beautiful while also telling part of the story. It adds to the worldbuilding while providing a treat for the audience’s eyes. 

Every performance is just as spectacular. Michael B. Jordan absolutely nails his dual performance, making both of his characters truly feel like different people. Hailee Steinfeld brings a rather complicated character to life, adding in a lot of emotion to a role that plays hard into the theme of identity. Miles Caton gives such a moving performance that he practically steals the spotlight. Everyone else is able to showcase their incredible talent and give us characters worth caring about.

The film is also chock full of action and offers plenty of decent scares. The fight choreography against the vampires is done very well and is very fun to watch. The use of hand-to-hand combat, gunplay, and random objects as weapons made it all the more entertaining. Every scare felt earned, which is nice to see in a modern vampire flick. It makes for a riveting time at the movies. It’s also worth noting that this film is incredibly suspenseful. The suspense throughout is absolutely chilling, even in scenes about whether or not to invite someone into their club.

Music plays a huge role in the movie, and it’s all phenomenal. The score fully immerses the audience in the setting while sounding terrific. The songs are powerful, filled with deep meaning, and beautiful. There are also a fair share of catchy tunes throughout. If you’re a music-lover, this is a perfect film for you.

The story focuses on a number of themes, including racial issues, identity, religious issues, cultural appropriation, assimilation, and more. All of which are handled excellently. There’s also quite a bit of representation, which is very welcome. It’s quite surprising to see a vampire movie cover such hard-hitting themes that can make the audience think, but I’m genuinely happy to see them here and being treated seriously.

Something Sinners excels at is telling the story without overexplaining anything. We see that the vampires need to be invited in rather than being told. We see that sunlight hurts them without characters outright telling us. Movies are a visual medium, and the storytelling is done visually here. The same goes for the cultural elements of the story, the relationships between the characters, and important elements of characters’ backstories. Ryan Coogler is clearly an insanely talented filmmaker and storyteller.

The Bad

Another strength of the film are the well-written characters who the audience cares about and feels concerned for. There is one character, however, who makes some anger-inducing decisions. That character is Grace. I’m very well aware that Grace’s actions in the movie are motivated by the love for her family and the need to protect her daughter, but WOW. First of all, she invites literally all of the vampires into the juke joint. I understand she wanted to fight them, but they could have invited one vampire in at a time and taken them out one-by-one instead. Maybe this would have been a reasonable decision if she used this as an opportunity to take out as many vampires as possible, but she only killed one (her husband), and literally sat in fire until she perished. Now her friends are left to face the rest of the vampires, with almost all of them dying due to her decision. I get her reasons for it and I know the movie couldn’t really take off without her doing this, but it’s absolutely frustrating.

The movie’s pacing is a bit slow at first, and it does take a while to get to the vampires. This is definitely intentional and is done so we get to know the characters more first so that we can care more for them later on and to feel just how intense the somewhat sudden shift the characters experience. I personally don’t mind it, but there will be many folks who do. The initial slow pacing will unfortunately take certain audiences out of it. Thankfully, it seems like most people do see the positives of these pacing decisions.

Conclusion

Sinners is powerful, emotional, and action-packed. It looks beautiful, and the acting and music are phenomenal. It really is worth all the hype, whether you like spooky vampire movies or not. This is a must-see for audiences of all kinds. You’ll go through just about every emotion throughout the movie’s runtime while being entertained and thinking about the important messages the story has to offer.

Rating: 10/10

Read Next: ‘Nosferatu’ Review