In Sinners, arguably director Ryan Coogler’s first original non-franchise film since Fruitvale Station, he has given his favourite star Michael B. Jordan the unenviable task of playing two different characters: the brothers Elijah and Elias Smoke.

Elijah Smoke is the serious and business-minded-slash-responsible of the two, while Elias “Stack” is the wildfire who plays it loose and is chaos incarnate. They both ran away from Chicago after allegedly working for Al Capone to start a juke joint business, roping in their cousin Sammie (Miles Caton in his debut role) who is a gifted blues guitarist. The twins also rope in others to help, including blues musician Delta Slim (Delroy Lindo who is fun to watch as always).

Over in yonder, a sinister country singer named Remmick (Jack O’Connell) wants to rain in on their parade and has a special interest in Sammie, while a woman named Mary (Hailee Steinfeld) tries to demand answers from one of the twins for jilting her high and dry. As the party goes on in the juke joint’s grand opening, the place gets under siege from the forces of darkness with our heroes having to wait out until dawn to survive.

Son Of A Preacher Man…

The film is one-half a coming-of-age story of 1930s African American folks trying to make it big through their unorthodox ways and away from oppressors in a very tumultuous time. The twins and their cousin make for a compelling watch as they make do with what they have and try to set up, getting away from their past. In Sammie’s case, it’s trying to make it big as a singer and away from his “son of a preacher” moniker while also getting life advice from the twins and Delta Slim.

The other half plays out like Robert Rodriguez’s classic action horror flick From Dusk Till Dawn, but with “soul” and in the troubled 1930s. And a lot of modern day flair and inventive visual storytelling to immerse us in Coogler’s world. I’ll say this: you have never seen a one-shot blues performance and dance scene quite like Sinners’ which accentuates Sammie’s music as if it transcends beyond its current period. It’s really riveting stuff, along with the action, cuts, and pacing that follows through to the aforementioned siege.

Director Ryan Coogler, straight out of doing franchise films, is basically untethered in his new movie for better or for worse. One could argue that the film should have just stayed in tone with its period piece, but I’m all for blending two genres that feel kinda cohesive through Coogler’s storytelling chops. There’s a lot of energy and comic book-style theatrics in the latter half, all executed really well with solid payoff and a memorable post-credits sting.

Sinners is a film with multiple genres mashed into it, but is its own beautiful beast. Not afraid of swinging big with its tale of two brothers escaping their troubles and getting their cousin involved, it’s a cinematic splendour you have to see for yourself. It’s also a great instance where the show’s trailer only gives you an inkling of what to expect; the best kind of film you should go blind in. It’s fine-ass cinema, in other words.

Final Score: 90/100