All personnel in the Hollywood world take a seat as Mr. Steven Spielberg will show all of you how you properly make a remake and a modern musical. This is truly one of his most impressive outputs in his already monumentally legendary career. Pure direction, understanding the source material, and fleshing out the screenplay beyond its capabilities. Spielberg once again shows me why he will always be the greatest film director of all time and one of the greatest storytellers in history up there with Shakespeare and Disney. The sheer masterful style, subtlety, substance, gravitas, choreography, cinematography, music, lighting, acting, beautiful storytelling, a romance that is always convincing makes this perhaps my favorite film of the year. I love this film, and I want to watch it again and again when it's available on Vudu. An what makes this even more incredible, is I'm not a huge fan of musicals. But this is the perfect way to execute a musical in a way that I can get engaged when others simply could not do it. I can go on and on and on about this movie. But I will just let you experience this pleasure for yourself. Well done Spielberg...again!

Pros: Acting so much better than the original. Was not as "fakey". Choreography was great.

Cons: the Spanish dialogue was a good tip of the hat, but, for us non-Spanish speakers, a distraction. Should of at least had subtitles. And Rita Moreno singing "Somewhere" was a letdown. Her singing the song did not fit the moment and I would have much rather heard Zegler sing it.

One of the most anticipated movies of 2021 was for sure Steven Spielberg's adaptation of a well-known classic, West Side Story. One could argue about the sense or nonsense to remake this well-known story, which is beloved by many as a movie and a musical on stage.

This version of West Side Story gives us more background and authenticity than the 1961 version. We learn more about the changing neighborhood where the two gangs, the American Sharks and the Puerto Rican Jets are fighting over. All Sharks are played by actors of Latin-American descent, and a lot of Spanish is used and mixed into the dialogues. Tony (portrayed by Ansel Elgort),fresh out of jail struggles with the growing tensions between the gangs and is first reluctant to attend a social dance event of the neighborhood, where he meets Maria (portrayed by a wonderful Rachel Zegler). Especially Mike Faist as Riff is incredibly convincing and gives Tony's oldest friend a new and still familiar face. Ariana DeBose as Anita really nails it, and is a wonderful performer, especially leading "America".

The appearance of the new character Valentina, Doc's widdow, whom we knew as the store drug store owner in the 1961 version, she is Puerto Rican and gives this adaptation a very endearing and authentic twist. Valentina is portrayed by no other than Rita Moreno who had won the Oscar for playing Anita in the 1961 movie.

This movie is well worth watching and is a dignified remake bringing some new sides and more authenticity to a well-known and beloved story. Highly recommended not only to musical lovers.