I never thought a vampire western would be the best movie of the year: Ryan Coogler knocks it out of the park with Sinners

Let’s be honest: 2025 is turning out to be a disastrous year for cinema. So far, the only real box office hit we’ve had is Minecraft… and despite its numbers, it’s clear that I wouldn’t recommend it to absolutely anyone on the face of the Earth. Other blockbuster attempts have also fallen by the wayside, like Captain America: Brave New World and Mickey 17. And, if we’re talking about Snow White, it’s enough to make you cry.

But in the midst of this whirlwind of terrible cinema, a film has emerged that is not only breaking box office records in the United States but also has impeccable reviews: Sinners, by Ryan Coogler. Just citing some numbers is enough for you to realize the situation: it has a 98% critical approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a 96% audience score. On Letterboxd, it has a rating of 4.2. And on IMDb, it stands at 8.1 out of 10. Clearly, everyone is making it clear that it’s a great movie. But why exactly?

Michael B. Jordan in double trouble… and we still want more!

Sinners is a vampire western (yes, just like that) set in Mississippi in 1932. In the film, Michael B. Jordan plays a dual role: he portrays two twin brothers who return to their hometown to open a juke joint, but on the way, they encounter a supernatural threat drawn from the darkest folklore of the American South. I understand that the premise sounds crazy, because it probably is. But Sinners not only works: it excites you, shakes you, entertains you, and makes it clear that good original cinema is still possible (or at least I hope so).

What Coogler has achieved with Sinners is no small feat. The filmmaker’s name was already synonymous with success thanks to Fruitvale Station and Creed… but especially Black Panther. Now, with Sinners he establishes himself as a filmmaker with a unique vision, capable of using the codes of the blockbuster to tell incredible stories. Despite being at the forefront of commercial cinema, he seems like a 90s auteur: a director who only needs freedom to shake up both critics and the box office.

Sinners has it all. It is, at the same time, a gothic fantasy, a racial drama, a love letter to the African American South, and a family tragedy with Shakespearean overtones. The characters not only fight against literal monsters but also against the demons of the past, structural violence, the legacy of racism, sexual repression, and religious guilt. Come on, Coogler has brought together everything that has already defined him as a director to say “here I am.” And wherever he has gone, the audience has followed.

Michael B. Jordan is his most loyal ally. While we recently saw a somewhat strange double performance with Robert Pattison in Mickey 17, now Jordan comes to make it clear that playing two roles is not only a great opportunity but can also be done wonderfully. The nuances between Smoke and Stack are so clear that you forget you are watching the same person. Where one is intensity and sacrifice, the other is restraint and coldness: it feels like you are watching Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro interact through Jordan’s portrayal.

Visually, it does not fall behind. Autumn Durald Arkapaw, the director of photography, was somewhat criticized after working on The Marvels, but in Sinners he has shown that, if allowed to do what he wants, he easily rises to the occasion. He is the one who gives the film its most terrifying tone, and who makes the idea of a vampire western work.

But, of course, the great added factor to the film is the music. If I tell you that it is made by Ludwig Göransson, the music from The Mandalorian, Oppenheimer, or Tenet probably resonates in your head. But I do not hesitate to say that, with Sinners, the Swedish composer has done the best work of his career.

It is no coincidence that people compare Sinners to Get Out or even to There Will Be Blood. Not because they are similar in tone, but because they all managed to capture something of the zeitgeist, the cultural energy of their time. Sinners is not interested in pleasing everyone. It is visceral, at times uncomfortable, even strange. But that strangeness is its great strength. In a year where no film seemed to have a soul, this movie makes it clear that, as always, (commercial) cinema still has salvation.