The upcoming horror movie Sinners — Ryan Coogler’s latest collaboration with Michael B. Jordan — has been on the radars of many movie-lovers. Then first reactions dropped, with people saying they were “floored” by the film, and it accumulated an impressive Rotten Tomatoes score, which made people even more excited. Now the time has come, with Sinners hitting the 2025 movie calendar on April 18, so what exactly are all the critics raving about?
Michael B. Jordan plays twin brothers Smoke and Stack in Ryan Coogler’s Sinners, and many critics are saying these roles allow the actor to display his talents on a level we haven’t seen before.
Aisha Harris of NPR calls the film “striking and satisfying,” and “a complex thrill ride.” Sinners is best experienced on a big screen with an enthusiastic crowd, she says, so you might want to go ahead and buy those tickets. Of Michael B. Jordan, the critic says:
Jordan is at his very best here, yet more proof that Coogler might be the only director the actor's worked with thus far who truly understands what makes him a star. As Smoke and Stack, Jordan has to make each character distinct yet in sync, and he mostly succeeds, inhabiting a thick Southern drawl that sings and swings effortlessly with each word and turn of phrase. When they're together, their physicality and interactions are visually seamless.
Jocelyn Noveck of the AP rates it 3.5 out of 4 stars, saying that Michael B. Jordan is oozing with charisma in the most “creatively ambitious, culturally layered, artistically bold” twin-led movie yet. However, Ryan Coogler is firing on all cylinders as well. Noveck says:
How Coogler pulls everything off at once — and makes it cohere, mostly — is a sight to see. And even more, to feel. With a crowd you don’t know, as Coogler intends it. At my screening there was frequent laughter, both joyous and nervous, some screams and not a few jumps, including one where I felt my own self leaving my seat, pens and notepad tumbling.
David Ehrlich of IndieWire gives Sinners a B+ and says the entire cast is phenomenal, but Michael B. Jordan’s twins develop into the two most nuanced characters the actor has ever played. Ehrlich continues:
That Sinners doesn’t feel like a waste of a half-dozen other great actors’ talents is a testament to Michael B. Jordan’s immaculate dual performances as the siblings. He’s dynamic and alive in a way that allows this movie to be at least two things at any one time — not just silly and serious, but also aggressive and protective, ruthless and loving.
Billie Melissa of Newsweek calls Sinners the best movie of 2025 so far, as it leaves no doubt that every member of the cast and crew cared about delivering high-quality art. The chemistry between the director and his star continues to grow, Melissa says, writing:
Jordan is utterly captivating, giving not just one but two of the best performances we've seen so far this year. The dual role shtick can be gimmicky, but there's no room to soak in that they're both Jordan due to how distinct he makes each brother. That's also a credit to Coogler's screenplay. Both Smoke and Stack have their own motivations, separate things driving them that make it easy for Jordan to pull from every page in his actor playbook.
Rodrigo Perez of The Playlist calls the film an early frontrunner for movie of the year. Sinners is a “spectacular, sexy, sweaty and soulful vampire drama,” that serves as both a horror film and a masterpiece of spiritual depth and emotional texture:
Firstly, it’s probably the finest dual role twin performance since Nicolas Cage in Adaptation, but the divergent levels of nuance—twins who are very similar, and yet distinct—is phenomenally pronounced. The brothers are identical twins, but it’s clear that Smoke is more of the big brother and leader, while Stack is the more youthful dreamer, and Jordan carries them that way, both physically and emotionally. The degree of difficulty in the dynamics and subtly is high, but it’s all incredibly persuasive. The performance and technical aspects are also seamless and effortless. Never once in a minute are you questioning that these two brothers aren’t different characters.
This is all a resounding endorsement for Michael B. Jordan’s talents and Ryan Coogler’s filmmaking that drives home the reason why these two keep working together. If you want to catch Sinners on the big screen — highly recommended by the critics — you can do so starting Friday, April 18.
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