James Nystrom

Spielberg’s remake of this classic movie begs a question: why? The original version, despite lapses in backstories of the main characters, still manages to rise to a very high level of performance art. The music, the choreography, the story and singing are all better than this newer edition. The actors do not have chemistry with each other and appear to be acting like their former movie counterparts. The Jets and Sharks are practically anonymous with little reference to their names or characters outside the leading roles. Also, they basically cannot sing or dance. The music sounds thin and tinny compared to the full orchestra of the original. Finally, there is really no genuine emotion in the mechanical progression of the movie. The tragedy minimized in a kind of whimpering climax. The fault of this movie rests mainly in Spielberg’s derivative approach to film-making. No original creativity is his hallmark. Watch the original movie instead