Repent, You Sinners: Coogler’s Fifth Film Proves Cinema Ain’t Dead
Sinners (2025)
Directed by Ryan Coogler
Starring Michael B. Jordan, Miles Caton, Hailee Steinfeld
Spoiler Free
What an exciting time to be a fan of cinema. We’re knee-deep in an era where young filmmakers are being handed real budgets—finally—and allowed to carve their names into the marble slab of film history. The neo-auteur age is in full swing, with these directors writing, helming, and often producing deeply personal works. These films aren’t just timestamps; they’re signatures. Ryan Coogler’s fifth feature, Sinners (2025), bears that signature boldly—and it’s the best film of 2025… so far.
Last year gave us neo-auteur moves from Alex Garland with Civil War (2024) and Robert Eggers with Nosferatu (2024)—both fourth films, both financial and critical successes. Sinners, Coogler’s fifth, feels destined to join them. It’s a gorgeously shot period piece set in the 1930s American South. Michael B. Jordan stuns in dual roles as Stack and Smoke, identical twins returning to Mississippi after years hustling in Chicago. Their plan? Open a juke joint. And the entire first act is devoted to that effort.
We meet musicians, a cook, a doorman. Each encounter functions like an unforced flashback, telling us where the brothers came from and who they are now. None of it feels like clunky exposition. The dialogue, particularly between the brothers and the folks they left behind, is lived-in and heartfelt. My favorite scenes? Smoke reconnecting with his estranged wife, Annie—played beautifully by Wunmi Mosaku. You might know her from Lovecraft Country (2020) or Loki (2021–2023)—but here, she gets a real spotlight and nails it opposite Jordan.
Also opposite Jordan is Academy Award nominee Hailee Steinfeld, playing Mary, the story’s “outsider surrogate”—you know, the character asking the questions we’d ask. She seems to relish finally playing an adult role where she gets to say adult things. Other standouts include Delroy Lindo as Delta Slim and newcomer Miles Caton as Sammie Moore. Both actors embody the musical spectrum: Caton’s the wide-eyed prodigy, Lindo’s the seasoned vet who’s seen it all and still shows up on beat.
Once the juke joint opens, Coogler lets the second act breathe. The sounds, the visuals—it’s a sensory explosion. He doesn’t rush to the horror-infused third act. Instead, he lets us bask in the fruits of the brothers’ labor: music, booze, sex, and sweaty joy.
Then comes the tonal pivot.
When the film leans into horror tropes in the third act, it stumbles a bit. It’s not bad—just less compelling than the rich atmosphere of the first two acts. Action scenes are energetic but suffer from muddied lighting and frantic whip pans. And while the emotional stakes are sky-high thanks to the character work earlier, the death and destruction feel less impactful, possibly due to the visual chaos.
Still, Sinners is a tribute—to Blackness, to the blues, and to the horror genre. That reverence, combined with stellar performances, should earn it both critical acclaim and box office love. And that’s great news for all of us, because if this is film number five, I can’t wait to see what Coogler does with number six.
Pro tip: Stick around for the mid-credits denouement. It’s essential—a perfect bookend to a well-told story.
Rating: 7.7 out of 10