patrick tomkins

Like a lot of people the original "West Side Story" film holds a special place in my heart. I first saw it on PBS when I was an eight year old boy and was overwhelmed with emotion. I've seen it more times than I can count both on the big and little screen. I was worried Spielberg's remake would try too hard to draw parallels to Trump's America, and have a heavy handed message, thankfully he doesn't. Tony Kushner's script, has stronger language and a more realistic tone, but it doesn't go overboard. The contrast of rundown realistic sets as a backdrop for the spectacular musical numbers works beautifully. The cast is spectacular, obviously the big deal is having a real Latino cast. Spielberg's remake does not try to outdo the original, it's its own creation and in its way is just as moving and spectacular as the original film when people talk about the placement of the musical numbers that's directly from the original the original play. The new choreography is beautiful it pays enough tribute to Jerome Robbins while being its own creation Most importantly the strong feelings and emotion that the original provoked is alive and well in this remake I'm not sure what movie the negative reviewer's saw but it certainly isn't the one I saw this evening. The casting of Rita Moreno as a new character, Valentina is very moving and works perfectly. Short version if you love west side story or musicals in general, you'll love this movie