Steven Spielberg’s 2021 remake of iconic stage-to-screen adaptation ‘West Side Story’ made a devastating $10.5 million on opening weekend. Making only 10 percent of its $100 million budget back, West Side Story was officially considered to have ‘flopped’ in the box office. But did it really deserve this?

In my opinion, the modern remake of the 1961 adaptation is a stunning representation of the original story, while building on the story and making alterations, it manages to keep the authenticity of the original Broadway musical, and original film. Unlike many stage-screen adaptations of the modern day, West Side Story actually casted musically trained actors, which actually makes the movie better, even if Hollywood thinks it has to cast big name A-listers to make their film a success, no matter their musical talent.

The film makes the rivalry between white Americans and the Puerto Rican immigrants more central to the story, as the original had the rivalry as a turf war, and this allows more aspects of the mixing cultures to come to the forefront of the story. The presence of have actual Hispanic actors playing the Puerto Rican characters is a big step for the adaption as the original had white actors performing in makeup to make their skin look darker. Similarly, the original put more importance on dance skills rather than singing, however the modern take had an equal amount of each which adds to the experience of watching. The upbeat dance numbers are exciting and fun to watch just as much as the darker moments pull real emotion out of the audience, by way of the incredible acting performances.

The costume design is stunning and the cinematography is award worthy, especially one of the best moments: the dance in the community building in which the camera work is commendable, the scene is so exciting and engaging, even though it isn’t one of the key action sequences in the film. The only downside is that with the focus on singing skills we lose much of the ballet in the prologue, which serves as the perfect introduction to each key groups, the Sharks (Puerto Rican immigrants) and the Jets (white Americans).

Overall, I think West Side Story is a must watch, it’s exciting and engaging and just a real experience, and I also highly recommend its 1961 counterpart to watch too.