At first I thought West Side Story remake was going to be trash but.....

So I watched the 2021 film remake of West Side Story directed by Academy Award Winner Steven Spielberg. Now at first I wasn't sure about seeing this film but since I heard it was getting positive and critical acclaim for the remake and received including so I thought why not see it. I found the film on HBO max.

The film opens with a sound of someone whistling in the background, then it shows under constructed area of New York, then we see the Jets, an all-white group and we see the Sharks, a Puerto Rico group. The scene was filled with soft smooth choreography from the Jets different and somewhat similar to the 1961 film and brutal fights with the two groups. The Jets sang "Jet" not much choreography but just them walking in the streets. Then, we meet Tony (played by Ansel Elgort), a handsome Causasin Jet seems kind not interested being apart of the Jets working at a drugs store and the owner Valentina (played by Rita Moreno who was in the original 1961 West Side Story film) sees Riff (played by Mike Faist), lead of the Jets and a friend of Tony. Valentina is not fond of Riff believes he is the reason why Tony gets into trouble. Then there's apartment looks exactly like the 1961 film version where two sisters live Maria and Anita (played by Rachel Zegler and Ariana Debose) both look beautiful and getting dressed for the party. Bernado (played by David Alvarez),Maria's brother and Chino (played by Josh Andreas Riveria) Maria's date enters the apartment. Chino dressed all nerdy and geeky. The two seems so awkward together. At the gym, the music plays some type of jazzy orchestra tune, the dance match to the music until fight breakout between the Jets and Sharks. The Mambo Scene was different than the original. I love Maria and Tony with each other on the dance floor then met each other under the bleachers. The "Maria" scene, the cinematography was romantically cinematic when Tony sings the song. The apartment balcony scene with Maria and Tony was cute.

"America" Anita vocals were in sync same with everybody in the scene. I was surprised with the new character Anybodys (played by Iris Menas)a non-binary character that wanted to be apart of the Jets but the Jets didn't think them would be a fit and keep calling Anyb0dys a girl.

I guess something to represents for the nonbinarys. Tony and Riff fighting over the gun was new and interesting something I never seen in the original. "I Feel Pretty" scene was astonishing and new exactly how I kind of pictured it with Maria's coworkers cleaning up in a store and acting silly singing the song. The ending was heartbreaking than the original film. Her tears seems so real but kind of not like Wood's portrayal as Maria.

Here’s what I think of the film...

At first I thought the remake was going to be trash but it was actually not bad. I wouldn't say it was better than the 1961 musical film adaptation. The visuals seems so high def and the colors were similar to the La La Land film but with a little dark tone. Rita's film character Valentina makes her original film character look like the all grown up like she grown up from Anita to Valentina. Like she changed her name from Anitta to "Valentina". Valentina and Tony have great friendship chemistry. Rachel Zegler did amazing than Natalie Wood in the original film sticking to her bilingual roots. The film proves to me that Ariana Debose deserves her Oscars for her role as Anita. I am grateful that all of the songs in the films weren't auto tuned. It was made with raw vocals and pure perfection same with the music score.

Director: Steven Spielberg

Screenwriter: Tony Kushner

Based on West Side Story by Jerome Robbins, Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim & Arthur Laurents

Producers: Steven Spielberg, Kristie Macosko Krieger, Kevin McCollum

Cast: Ansel Elgort, Ariana DeBose, David Alvarez, Mike Faist, Rita Moreno, Rachel Zegler, Iris Menas

Cinematography: Janusz Kamiński

Editors: Michael Kahn, Sarah Broshar

Music: Leonard Bernstein

Choreography: Justin Peck

Production Companies: Amblin Entertainment, TSG Entertainment

Distributor: 20th Century Studios

Year: 2021

Time: 2 hours 36 minutes