West Side Story Review: 7 Ups & 3 Downs
Spielberg does the impossible and improves upon a classic.
2021 truly has been the year of movie musicals, and as terrific as In the Heights was, it looks like Hollywood saved the best for last, with Steven Spielberg's much buzzed-about remake/reimagining of the 1961 classic West Side Story, adapted of course from the 1957 Leonard Bernstein-Stephen Sondheim play.
And while it's incredibly easy to question the necessity of a remake considering both the '61 movie's firmly cemented stature as an all-timer and how spectacularly well it's aged over 60 years, this is a rare re-do that doesn't merely justify its existence - it arguably outdoes the original.
Spielberg's West Side Story is an almost unthinkable triumph given the sacred nature of the source material and the incredible challenge of attempting to deliver a worthwhile update.
Whether you're a fan of musicals or not, the sheer operatic thrall of Spielberg's filmmaking, aided by an exceptional cast, makes for an intoxicating mix that makes the majority of its 156 minutes basically fly by.
While this remake absolutely didn't need to exist, one suspects most will be glad that it does, if for no other reason than it giving Spielberg the opportunity to flex his most jaw-droppingly impressive directing work in many years.
But first, here's what doesn't quite work...