Today’s cinematic landscape is full of remakes and reboots of beloved classics. It’s no surprise that a remake of the Academy Award winning West Side Story was made, but coming from two time Academy Award winner Steven Spielberg added quite the intrigue. As the film had its world premiere on Monday, it looks as though the film is set to take the Oscars by storm like its predecessor as the film has received overwhelming praise.
Steven Spielberg’s #WestSideStory is a TRIUMPH! It's beautiful & brilliantly photographed – a real love letter to NYC w/ a tremendous ensemble cast who truly redefine this classic story for a new generation. Shout outs to @rachelzegler & @ArianaDeBose who CRUSH it in this film. pic.twitter.com/9wJbUJclnV
— Erik Davis (@ErikDavis) November 30, 2021
Embargo lifted: I saw West Side Story tonight and I’m happy to report that musical theater will show up at the Oscars for impeccable visuals, Ariana DeBose is A DAMN STAR and it’s only the beginning for Rachel Zegler. I love this for us.
— Ayanna P. (@AyannaPrescod) November 30, 2021
More on WEST SIDE STORY on the whole in a bit, but first … HOLY MOLY, Mike Faist as Riff. One of those performances that grabs you by the collar, stops your pulse, and demands attention. That exceedingly rare pleasure of feeling like a star is forming before your eyes. A thrill. pic.twitter.com/mWfzaRGaIT
— Marshall Shaffer (@media_marshall) November 30, 2021
WEST SIDE STORY: If it's not quite essential, it's still tremendously entertaining. Vivid, beautiful work from our greatest living American moviemaker. Invigorating choice to have subtitle-less Spanish comprise ~40% of dialogue. David Alvarez is the breakout, but everyone's aces.
— Barry Hertz (@HertzBarry) November 30, 2021
WEST SIDE STORY is *phenomenal.* Steven Spielberg has been talking about making a musical for almost his entire career, and this was worth the wait. This is top-tier Spielberg.
— Chris Evangelista (@cevangelista413) November 30, 2021
Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story 2.0 is an ecstatic act of ancestor-worship: a vividly dreamed, cunningly modified, visually staggering revival, passionately conservative but brilliant. No-one but Spielberg could have brought it off – review later
— Peter Bradshaw (@PeterBradshaw1) November 30, 2021
I will get the chance to screen the film early next week & these first reactions have certainly increased my anticipation for the film.
