Don Reviews "Sinners"

Action films have a formula that can work well for them that has a story that builds and builds until there is the big battle (or payoff) in its third act.  The Star Wars films are a great example (especially Episode 2), but in some cases the wait turns into a letdown.  It’s like when you go out to eat and you wait for the meal to come; sometimes the food was worth it and other times you feel like walking out and never coming back.  Sinners may or may not be that type of experience.

Ryan Coogler teams up once again with a mainstay for him in Michael B. Jordan, who is joined here by Jack O’Connell, Hailee Steinfeld, Jayme Lawson, Omar Benson Miller, and Li Jun Li.  It’s the 1930s in Mississippi, and twin brothers Smoke and Stack (both played by Jordan) come back home after living abroad and becoming successful.  They buy an abandoned building and set up a big show for that night, with a large number of people from the community coming out. All is not what it seems as the night goes on, and a social event becomes a battleground with evil forces.

I have to give Jordon props here playing twins in the film, but the supporting cast is also great here led by Li and Miller, whose performances added to the overall quality of the film.  The visuals are good here as well, and with the story taking place in New Orleans during The Great Depression, the vibe was that much more intense alongside great set design to keep things going the right way.  There is also a bit of time jumping in this film, which was also done well.

When it come to the story itself, I am a little conflicted.  Overall, I would recommend it, but at almost two and a half hours, it ran way too long.  Sinners spends the first ninety minutes trying to build everything up by telling the backstory and the planning for the big event to come with the last quarter dealing with the action seen in the trailers and the social gathering itself.  Films like those directed by Quentin Tarantino do this much better, especially when they take time telling a story, but in the end, they tend pay off.  Here, Coogler tried doing the same thing, but it did not work on this one.  If this film was twenty minutes shorter, I would have loved it, instead of just liking it.  Since Sinners is innovative in many ways otherwise, I will still recommend seeing it at a weekend matinee showing in the theaters.