Every year, the big box office-breaking movie is based on a sequel or remake of an existing property. So, it is always special when we get the rare occurrence of a new original movie that makes waves. This year, that film is Sinners.
Sinners is written and directed by Ryan Coogler, who is well known for directing Creed and Black Panther. The film follows twin brothers Smoke and Stack (both played by Michael B. Jordan) returning to their hometown in Mississippi in the year 1932, where they set up a juke joint for their community with the help of their cousin, Sammie (played by Miles Caton). However, disaster strikes as a vampire attempts to turn every one of the guests attending the joint into a vampire as well.
While the beginning of the film starts off a tad slow, it manages to develop and build up this small town and its inhabitants rather quickly, and makes you connect to the characters pretty much right away. This is also helped by the marvelous cast, who deliver absolutely stellar performances throughout. The breakout stars of the film are Wunmi Mosaku as Annie and first-time actor Miles Caton as our protagonist Sammie.
What builds up the stacked cast of actors is also its cinematography and music. Sinners is a brilliant and gorgeous film. The camera, especially in the night scenes, manages to convey its horror sequences with a well-done and tense emotion behind them. What is also important to Sinners is that its music as a whole is a vital component of Sinners and is necessary for its themes of identity and appropriation to be shown. There is a plethora of musical numbers throughout the film, and each is captured by brilliant camera work. Sammie’s performance in the juke joint specifically is the standout sequence of the film that combines the best aspects of what makes this movie great, all wrapped up in one.
However, one of the biggest flaws with Sinners is that even with its over two-hour-long runtime, it still feels like there is more missing from the film. While the beginning two acts of the movie are well done, it is the third act that feels rather rushed to conclude the movie. Many characters feel hastily killed off by the end to have the climactic conclusion. This is not to even mention one post-credit scene that feels like it should’ve been part of the whole picture instead of waiting through a couple of minutes of names to get to.
Overall, however, Sinners still manages to be an emotional, scary, and incredibly captivating, good time. With over $161 billion at the box office already and seems to keep on growing as more attention is brought to it.
