West Side Story Review: 7 Ups & 3 Downs

4. The Excellent Ensemble Cast

If Rachel Zegler and Ariana DeBose are rightly going to earn the lion's share of the cast's praise, the ensemble is an undeniable embarrassment of riches.

Though some might be reluctant to furnish too much praise on Ansel Elgort for his recent personal scandals, he's well-cast in the role of Maria's love interest Tony.

While far from the musical's most interesting character, Tony is brought to life by Elgort's evocative performance and particularly his strong singing voice.

But the most impressive performance among the Jets goes to Mike Faist, who makes Riff far more than a potential caricature, imbuing him with so much life and attitude.

David Alvarez is also terrific as Sharks leader Bernardo, and Corey Stoll is a hammy hoot as the cantankerous Lieutenant Schrank, though the true show-stealer among the supporting cast is inevitably Rita Moreno.

Moreno, who of course played Anita in the original film, is back here to play Valentina, a new character who basically assumes the part of pharmacist Doc from the original, serving here as his widow.

Moreno appears in a number of scenes, often acting as the voice of reason to the feuding youngsters, and in a scene so brilliant it just might net her a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination, tenderly sings the iconic song "Somewhere."

Simply, there's not a single weak link among the cast - everyone here is bringing their A-game.