West Side Story

It's not a remake. This has absolutely nothing to do with the 1961 film. They are completely separate adaptations of the stage musical. This is not rocket science. New versions of West Side Story are made every year around the world. The 1961 film has literally zero ownership over this story and characters.

It's as simple as this.. anyone crying about this film being "woke" - has not seen it. The extremely short passages of Spanish dialogue are deliberately written to not need subtitles. The performances make the context of the speech obvious - and everything is repeated in English anyway. Anybodys is presented exactly the same as the 1961 film - no reference to "non-binary" is ever made. Ergo the people moaning about the casting have (again) not even seen the film. Nothing about the main plot is changed, but the backstory is developed with great success. Chino especially is a huge improvement from earlier adaptions. Tony's more genuine past is a big asset to the film as well. Rita Moreno's new role is wonderful.

It's an incredible ensemble performance. The dancing is amazing, and the singing is breath-taking. And there's no miming here - many of the songs were even recorded live on set! The work behind the camera is equally impressive. Stunning cinematography and direction. Tony & Maria didn't have perfect chemistry, but the rest of the performance more than makes up for that.

Why are people acting invested in how much money this film makes, as if that has anything to do with it's quality. For a reality check I will remind you Steven Spielberg is literally the richest film director is the history of cinema. The guy is a multi-billionaire. Some people make a success of their lives while internet trolls waste away. Make better choices. And I realise I'm shouting into the void here - this page has clearly been completely lost to those trolls. Or should just say "troll" - on the first page alone I count 6 users that are all literally the same person. That's the extent of my patience, but no doubt this bizarre person has dozens more fake accounts if I could be bothered to check. Why someone would waste their life trolling a film website 24/7 is beyond me - but whatever, it's a free country.

West Side Story does just about everything right. The musical numbers, the choreography, the cinematography, all beautiful. A set of spectacular performances, particularly Rachel Zegler. Spielberg directed the quintessential version of West Side Story and one of the best musicals in a very long time.

The only place West Side Story falls short for me is that a lot of the Jets performances fell a little flat for me. Ansel Elgort in particular as Tony just didn't work for me. Aside from that, West Side Story is nothing short of spectacular, and one of the best releases of 2021.

I was hesitant to go after hearing some negative reviews and stories of disapppointing box office after release.

But he music treatmeant of Bernstein's score, the choreography, the cast, were reallyjust excellent. Tony and Maria have more chemistry and talent than the originals (movie version), and I was blown away by the "I Want to Be in America" street scene. Not woke, not lame. See it.

Spielberg does it again! Another outstanding production under his direction. The cast was great, the singing was great but one major thing that stood out to me was the choreography. It couldn't have been any better, and I can't imagine the amount of training and dance practice that each actor had to go through. Job well done by every member of the cast and crew!

My first thought in hearing about this ... a thought I'm sure was shared by many ... was WHY? Why remake a movie that was done so well the first time. Still, I went to the theater and found a wonderful, well-made movie. I hadn't read anything about the movie before seeing it and I went in wondering if they would update it to present day. They didn't, but I think that might have worked too.

Discussing the movie with my twenty-something son, I brought up the "why remake a nearly perfect film" question and his response was ... for a new generation. People his age were never going to see the 1961 version in the theater and most would never see a 60 year old movie at all. This movie allows a new generation (or two or three) to experience the magic on the big screen. Ultimately, the appeal of the movie lies in the music and the dance ... even more than the story. But the story is still powerful even after there have been so very many Romeo and Juliet adaptations.

A fun movie to see on the big screen.