West Side Story (2021)

ear on 12/14/2021 Reply  ·  Like  ·  (0 likes)

I applaud Stephen Spielberg for making a wonderful and enjoyable update and tribute to a movie classic for a new generation. He cast the Puerto Rican gang with real Latino actors and no brown face. He also gave more respect to the Spanish language by its use in this film.He also gave the rumbles more authentic fighting instead of the more theatrical dancing aspect of the original film. That said , I still have some issues that keeps the original classic in a higher reguard. The original has a beginning that can't be beat. It pans the New York skyline and the musical score and contrast is something to behold on a big screen canvas. The actors have charisma and the film is paced to grab you in and never let you go till the end titles. The choreography was magnificent and the film was magical in appeal. Spielberg's version is an update and has so much skill and love for this musical in every frame. His shuffling of the songs weakens the narrative though. I think his two leads have less chemistry than the original. In short I love both films for different reasons but prefer the magical perfection and flow of the original 10 Oscar winning triumph

ear on 3/5/2022 Reply  ·  Like  ·  (0 likes)

I want to elaborate what I said in my earlier review. Although I love and respect the brilliant work and dedication Spielberg put in this remake, I'm still not sure it was a necessary endeavor. The film is almost a replica of the original with politically correct content as to not offend today's woke audiences.. The fighting is more authentic but it takes away from the brilliance and respect that dance has a language of its own. West Side Story was considered a film where dancing was and important element in its strength of storytelling. Another weakness was Ansel as Tony and his weak delivery of his crucial lines. He was miscast in a crucial role. On a second viewing I think his changing the timeline of the songs Cool and I Feel Pretty are out of place and poorly done compared to the original. I also think the ending had less impact and it seemed more staged. If I had never seen the original I might have thought this was just great thus I still rate it high but I have no reason to choose this as my favored adaptation of this musical experience.