Review of West Side Story (2021) by Perli — 21 Mar 2022

It's my personal predilection that I nowadays rarely like this type of musicals with 50s music and dance numbers. I prefer to originals with Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire, love Singin' in the Rain. Never really liked the original 60s version of West side story and I haven not noticed any added value in Spielberg's remake - I see no relevance of the move for audiences in 2022, and rather lackluster theater attendance in US and internationally seems to confirm my suspicion.

The institutions - some critics uncritical accolades, Oscar nomanations etc - are pushing it, but the movie is mediocre, it has nothing to say about our specific day and age. And I do not buy that this is a universal story with eternal value, no, not really, then I prefer Shakespeare's Rome and Juliet in original version.