I know nothing about West Side Story. It's a name I obviously recognise but that's where it ends for me. I understand that it's a take on Romeo and Juliet but I don't know any specifics of the plot and I cannot name a single one of the songs. I've not seen the original stage musical nor the 1961 original film. So, with that in mind, why on earth would I want to see this new version? Well, it's quite simple, actually. I love me a good musical, which this obviously is, and I'm a big fan of Steven Spielberg. So, there was enough to convince me to catch the new West Side Story upon release.
As I'm sure you may know, the story involves two rival gangs in an area of New York City, one consisting of white Americans and the other consisting of folks from Puerto Rico. On one side, there's Tony, and on the other, there's Maria. Despite coming from two opposing sides, they fall in love and are determined to stay together, thus facing many obstacles in doing so.
One of my main draws to seeing this film was the fact that it's a musical, and on the musical side, it delivered for sure. The musical numbers are all really well executed with some excellent choreography and wonderfully vibrant / exciting visuals (most of the time). Not every song hit the mark, but more often than not they did. My favourites were America, a delightfully upbeat tune that, as it happens, I actually did know but didn't realise was from this musical, and Tonight, a beautiful duet. Spielberg has already established himself as a very versatile director, delving into action and adventure, sci-fi, drama, fantasy, history, thriller, war, and some other genres, but this only furthers that by showing he can very competently helm a musical as well, and I'd love to see more of this from him.
I also thought that, despite the story being something we've seen time and time again, it didn't feel repetitive and it also had dramatic beats that were still able to be really powerful even if they were predictable. Usually remakes or retellings etc. lose the impact of the work they're derived from as you know exactly where they're heading and they can seem a bit narratively uninteresting. Here, while parts did feel as if we were going through the motions of a typical take on Romeo and Juliet, most of it successfully swept me up. I especially believed in the chemistry between Tony and Maria and felt their longing for one another, helped in no small part by some very solid performances from Rachel Zegler (in an amazing debut performance) and Ansel Elgort.
In terms of issues, I think the pacing is quite off. Some less interesting parts feel overly dwelled on, while others feel more appropriate. My overall interest sort of flucuated throughout where I spent some time quite unengaged, mostly in the first thirty to forty minutes before it really gets going, and others really wrapped up. Not a major problem but still a bit of an issue. I'm sure that some of this might be in the nature of the stage musical thus making it not necessarily the film's fault, but I'm unfamiliar with it so I can't really say.
All in all, West Side Story was really good. It tells its story well and had a solid batch of songs sprinkled throughout. Can't say how it compares to either the stage musical or the original film, but I can't imagine this being considerably worse than anything, unless they're both absolutely extraordinary. Even if you're unfamiliar with this content much like I was, still go and catch it if you like a good musical, because this absolutely is just that.
I'm going to give West Side Story a 7.5/10
Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to resume counting down the mere days left until I see Spider-Man: No Way Home. Please oh please oh please don't let it disappoint...
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