Sinners Writer/Director Ryan Coogler and his leading man, Michael B. Jordan, have become one of the most interesting and prolific pairings in Hollywood over the past decade-plus. Coogler’s stunning directorial debut, Fruitvale Station (2013), instantly established – or re-established in Jordan’s case – them both as men with all the tools to become the faces of millennial cinema. The two would breathe new life into the Rocky franchise with the wildly successful legacy sequel/spinoff Creed (2015). They followed that success with Black Panther (2018). A film that earned the MCU a billion dollars, its first ever Best Picture nomination at the Oscars, and praise for Jordan as one of the greatest villains the genre has ever seen.
Still, as accomplished as Ryan Coogler already is at just 38, he’s never built his own world from scratch. Fruitvale Station is an adaptation of tragic real-life events. Creed is a legacy sequel to one of the most beloved sports franchises of all time. And the Black Panther films, for all their artistry, are nevertheless part of the MCU at the peak of that machine’s operation.
For Michael B. Jordan’s part, over his nearly 25-year career, he’s never been able to fully transition from consistently bankable pretty boy to legitimate acting force.
Enter Sinners, a fresh take on the vampire flick in which Michael B. Jordan pulls Parent Trap duty. Starring as twin brothers returning to their hometown in 1930s Mississippi and hoping to open their own juke joint before realizing an even greater evil than their racist neighbors is among them. Vampires.
Simply put, Sinners sees both Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan fully unleashed and fully realized. Each of them silencing any remaining doubts about themselves as individuals in their craft. And as a duo, they’re entering the conversation to be the millennial answer to Scorsese and De Niro.
Ryan Coogler Has the Sauce
Whereas Coogler’s prior films feel like a rising prospect putting the league on notice that “this guy’s got next”, Sinners feels like a declaration that his time is now. Coogler’s eye for the craft is apparent in every frame. As a director, his rendition of Jim Crow-era Mississippi oozes with constant unease, even in broad daylight amongst humans. As a writer, he pulls off my favorite technical feat, which is delivering every piece of exposition to the viewer exactly when it is necessary, leaving your mind to fill in the blanks and increase the tension.
We’ve known for a long time that Coogler has the skills necessary to create great films. The last remaining question was, does he have the sauce to create a compelling world and characters all his own? And after seeing Sinners, I’m happy to report that he does. Michael B. Jordan’s Smoke and Stack, which I’ll dive into more here in a second, have the sauce in spades. But the biggest compliment I can pay to Sinners is that every character is compelling.
Though your mileage may vary on Hailee Steinfeld‘s attempts at a southern accent, her Mary is phenomenally written. Serving as both a scorned lover and a white-passing friend of the Black community. Wunmi Mosaku, Delroy Lindo, Grace Chow, and Jack O’Connell all take turns delivering compelling line after compelling line. But Newcomer Miles Caton steals the show in his acting debut in Sinners as Sammie “Preacher Boy” Moore.
Caton is tasked with a lot for the film as both the moral and musical center of the work. Sammie, Smoke and Stack’s little cousin, is the son of a preacher and an aspiring blues musician caught between the two worlds of the biggest influences in his life. Miles Caton wears that weight well. And his various blues performances throughout the film, guided by Coogler’s deft hands, breathe life and rhythm into this film unique for the genre. At one point, I whispered to one of my friends in the theater that a singing scene felt like a Kendrick Lamar music video (complimentary). Coogler, to his credit, held nothing back in those musical numbers.
You may be wondering how I’ve gotten this far in a horror movie review without talking about whether or not it’s scary. That’s because the vampire scares, and rest assured, there are plenty of them, don’t take the lead in Sinners as much as they complement a compelling story of family, love, generational curses, and redemption. But the vampires are damn sure cool and scary as hell.
Finally, Michael B. Jordan has Arrived
I admit, I’ve long been skeptical of Michael B. Jordan as an actor. He’s shown promise from a young age, originally making a name for himself at just 15 years old as Wallace in season 1 of The Wire (back in 2002, mind you) before going on to appear in All My Children and Friday Night Lights among other projects. But as an adult, the question I had around Jordan was, “Is he actually a good actor or does he just look like that?”
After Sinners, I feel confident saying he’s actually a good actor.
It’s easy for the playing multiple characters bit to turn into just watching a guy do a silly little voice. That was my main issue with Mickey-17, in which Robert Pattinson plays multiple versions of himself. But in Sinners, Michael B. Jordan finds a way to play what genuinely feels like 2 different people who are both the coolest dudes you’ve ever seen. Both Smoke and Stack have their own character traits and arcs. I was able to orient myself with the differences between them very early in the film to the point where I no longer had to question which one of them I was looking at. Which is a testament to both their characterization on the page and Jordan’s performances.
Sinners Review Conclusion
Sinners is easily a new career-best performance for Michael B. Jordan in my eyes. But I’ve said that about each of Jordan’s performances in Coogler’s films. But Sinners is different. Sinners is the kind of movie I believe we’ll look back on and say that was it, that was the moment that Coogler and Jordan got the buy-in to go and try anything they want at any budget and take over the game. And I can’t wait for the new world order.
Recommendation: Go see Sinners in the biggest, most premium format you can find near you.
Grade: A
