So far in 2025, we’ve had fun movies and emotional movies, but very few films have managed to be both entertaining and emotionally resonant. 

Thankfully, now we have Ryan Coogler’s Sinners, a remarkable blend of popcorn genre fun and the kind of impactful filmmaking you usually see during award season. 

Michael B. Jordan stars as twins Smoke and Stack, who have returned to their hometown in the 1930s Deep South to escape their troubled lives. They have some cash and they want to open up a new juke joint for their community, so they buy an old building and begin putting together a crew to staff the opening night. 

They start out by recruiting their cousin, the preacher’s son Sammie (Miles Canton in his debut role), a brilliant musician who wants to play the blues and bring his talents to the people instead of just the church.

They get supplies from Grace (Li Jun Li), who owns a store in town with her husband, Bo (Yao), and daughter Lisa (Helena Hu). Sharecropper Cornbread (Omar Miller) will man the door, and local blues legend Delta Slim (Delroy Lindo) will entertain the crowd. Cooking services will be provided by Smoke’s ex, Annie (Wumni Mosaku), a healer and spiritual leader who is familiar with the supernatural. 

Despite racial tensions being high with the Klan still very much a factor, Smoke and Stack are determined to make their juke the most happening place in town for the Black community. People come from all over to hit up the opening night including Pearline (Jayme Lawson) a married woman who takes a liking to Sammie. Even those passing as white, like Stack’s former lover Mary (Hailee Steinfeld), want to join in.

Soon, the intoxicating music catches the attention of a mysterious stranger in town named Remmick (Jack O’Connell), who seems to have much more sinister intentions.

Every aspect of the filmmaking here is firing on all cylinders with Sinners. From production design (Hannah Beachler) to costumes (Ruth E. Carter) to the breathtaking cinematography from Autumn Duralk Arkapaw, this is an exceptionally well-made film. 

With blues being such a central part of the story, it’s no surprise that the music in Sinners is superb. Oscar-winning composer Ludwig Göransson teams with Coogler again here to create magic in a score that enhances every scene, but the mystical power of music is also presented beautifully through songs played on the stage at the club. 

One sequence involving the transcendent power of music could easily make the list of the year’s best cinematic moments, blending all aspects of filmmaking to give us something truly magical.

But beyond these brilliant moments that will linger with you, Sinners also delivers buckets of fake blood and lots of fun. 

The entire ensemble absolutely nails it here. Jordan manages to make Smoke and Stack feel distinct, even when we don’t have clear markers to tell us which one is which. His chemistry with both Steinfeld and Mosaku is palpable and genuinely sexy—to the surprise of no one. 

Canton is spectacular, especially considering this is his debut film. He has to carry a lot of the emotion of the story as well as the backbone of the musical impact and he does it flawlessly. 

Lindo is an actor we should all be regularly celebrating, and he continues his streak of literally never giving a bad performance in anything with such a fantastic turn here. Delta Slim is a great character, but he’s a great character because Lindo is just so damn good!

Dealing with supernatural lore can often slow the pace of a story with too many exposition dumps, but Sinners avoids those pitfalls. Instead, it correctly assumes we’re familiar with standard vampire rules and lets us spend more time with the characters dealing with the supernatural threat.

Coogler knows this is a story with deep layers and messages, but he also makes sure to give us some thrilling action sequences, genuinely creepy horror moments, and even a few laughs. It’s a blend of From Dusk Till Dawn, hints of John Carpenter’s The Thing, and a little bit of The Hateful Eight, all combined into a truly entertaining package that keeps you glued to the screen. 

So, despite the first few months of 2025 looking pretty grim as far as truly great films, Coogler and co. came through with the first movie of the year that I can’t wait to see again.