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Spielberg's Reboot/Remake of West Side Story--I did not like it.

posted 3 years ago by mplo (2356)
30 replies | jump to latest

Sorry, folks, but I tried to watch the 2021 film version on my computer, but I just could not sit through it. To me, it was just as horrendous as I though it would be. The fighting scenes were too violent, and the constant throwing around of racial and ethnic epithets were disgusting. The extremely hyped-up dancing, and the extreme violence of the Rumble, and the annoying attitudes of Bernardo, and the fact that the girls looked far more like a bunch of wealthy suburban prep school girls who were dressed to the nines for partying around town rather than a bunch of gangsters' girlfriends, not to mention the phony backdrop scenes were also too much to take, as was the fact that both the Jets and the Sharks themselves looked too much like the newsy boys..

Ansel Elgort's singing voice was nothing to write home about, and neither was Rachel Zegler's singing voice, because it was too far back, too nasal, and not projected forward enough. I'm sorry, folks, but I'm sticking with the old, original 1961 film version.

This is a musical--a musical is supposed to have some lightness to it, as well, which was sorely lacking in Spielberg's film version of West Side Story, and the whole thing felt way too different, too overdone, too bombastic, all wrong, and not at all like West Side Story.

I find it hard to believe that the critics bought into this remake, which, imho, was totally unnecessary. Sorry, but I made an effort to watch this movie, but I could not bring myself to see it through. I turned it off for good, and don't wish to see it again.

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[–] StrongRex (1319) 3 years ago

The critics are either bought out or members of the woke cult themselves. Even if they’re neither of those options, it’s still not enough to convince me to pay money to see this movie.

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[–] mplo (2356) 3 years ago

Hi, StrongRex! You've made a couple of good points that are well taken! Frankly, for me, I think that in this instance, the critics were both bought out AND part of the "woke" culture myself! There's no way that anybody could pay me to see this dreadful and unnecessary reboot/remake of such a beautiful classic movie-musical.

As I put on another post on this board, I think this this whole reboot/remake smacks of hypocrisy, because a number of the characters, such as Rachel Zegler, Ariana Dubose, and David Alvarez, all of who were born here in America (i. e. Ariana Dubose is from one of the Carolinas, David Alvarez was born in Montreal, Canada, and Rachel Zegler's from Clifton, NJ) spoke with false accents during the film. This was the same sort of thing that people who support the reboot/remake of the film version of West Side Story complain about in the original 1961 film version of West Side Story.

Having spoken my piece in my starter post above, there's no way I'd pay to see this reboot/remake of the film version of West Side Story, either in a movie theatre, or at home, in anyway.

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[–] StrongRex (1319) 3 years ago

Did you try to watch it through Disney+?

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[–] mplo (2356) 3 years ago

I rented it for my computer through Amazon.com for a mere six dollars.

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[–] StrongRex (1319) 3 years ago

How far into it did you get? Like, what was the last song/scene before you decided that you had enough?

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[–] mplo (2356) 3 years ago

I went as far as "Dance at the Gym", then I went to the pre-rumble ensemble, and Rumble itself to see what that would be like, and after that, I turned it off. I couldn't bring myself to sit through any more of the movie.

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[–] janelsenor (2044) 3 years ago

You should have watched "Maria". It's the one number I liked more in the new version.

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[–] mplo (2356) 3 years ago

I did see "Maria". Frankly, however, I don't think that Ansel Elgort's singing voice was anything to write home about, either.

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[–] Roguemail (1614) 3 years ago

So you never actually watched it through. Yet you are still making a judgement.

You decided you wouldn't like it a year ago. So this is hardly a surprise.

You have this entrenched notion that the original is sacred and the remake should not exist. You were never, ever going to give it a chance. Like I said before, you don't like it just because it's not the original. You don't like it because it's different.

But quite why you would expect a modern remake to be the same is beyond me.

I watched it. I quite liked it. It's not perfect. I thought the period evocation was very well done, and foe the most part the singing and dancing were good.

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[–] wearsalan (5554) 3 years ago

I watched it. Enjoyed it, but don't understand the point of it. It wasn't really different to the original so I'm assuming the remake was to attract modern audiences.

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[–] mplo (2356) 3 years ago

You're more than likely right about the purpose and point of the reboot/remake of the film version of West Side Story was and is to attract modern audiences, but it doesn't seem to be doing that very well, if the fact that it did so poorly in the box office is any indication.

The fact that Spielberg didn't even make half of what it cost him to make the new film version of West Side Story (i. e. a total of 10 million dollars, as opposed to the 100 million dollars that it cost him to make this film) is also a good indication of how well it's done, despite the fact that the critics bought into it and gave it such rave reviews.

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[–] [deleted] 3 years ago

I don't think they knew what the purpose of the movie was when they made it. If they felt the original suffered from poor singing then redo it with better singers, if they thought the original didn't appeal to the younger audience because it was so dated then update the movie.. Instead they remade the movie set in the same time period as the original so it didn't attract any younger generations, they had worse singers than in the original so they didn't improve the singing. To me it was as if they didn't have a clear vision of what they wanted to achieve with the movie... I know that Spielberg was babbling some woke warrior nonsense about making amends by not putting subtitles in the movie... but then he casts non-Puerto Ricans in the key roles which kind of shows the hypocrisy of the woke angle. I honestly can't figure out why this movie was made? It simply doesn't make sense.

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[–] mplo (2356) 3 years ago

Movies that are made well after a given period that they were supposedly set in all too often don't come out well, either, in general, and Spielberg's film version of West Side Story was no exception. In fact, much too much of an effort to set the reboot/remake of the film version of WSS in the late-1950-early 1960's was made, which is partly why it's such a failure.

Having said the above, it would've been far better if Spielberg had created his own film, with the same theme as, or a similar theme to West Side Story, instead of rebooting/remaking/re-adapting an already-existing film that was set during that same period due to having been made and come out back then, if one gets the drift.

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[–] mplo (2356) 3 years ago

To each their own, Roguemail! You don't like the fact that I gave it a try and decided not to see Spielberg's reboot/remake of the film version of West Side Story through---well, that's too bad--and it's your problem. I don't expect a modern remake of a classic film to be the same at all, but, yeh...you're right: I've always thought that the old, original 1961 film version of West Side Story was sacred, and that the reboot/remake of it was totally unnecessary, and too extreme for my liking. I thought the dancing was too hyped up, the fight scenes too violent, and the constant throwing around of racial/ethnic epithets was disgusting.

I'll also add that something so rough, gritty and supposedly more realistic as this is supposed to be is appropriate for another type of story about gangs and gangsterism, but not appropriate for something such as West Side Story.

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[–] liscarkat (18410) 3 years ago

If you watch a quarter or half of a movie, and you don't like any of what you've seen, you are qualified to make a judgement about it. To sit through the remainder of the film with the expectation that it would become good would be irrational. Watching it to the end would only be a formality so you could say you did and nobody could call you on it--a waste of time for no good reason.

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[–] mplo (2356) 3 years ago

Hi, liscarkat. Thank you very much for understanding my position on this, and coming to my defense. I decided to give the 2021 film version of West Side Story a try, because my curiosity sort of got the better of me. I knew all along that I wasn't going to like it, and I was right. I could not bring myself to sit through the whole 2021 film version of WSS. It was too hard to take.

Anyhow, thanks again for your post, liscarkat. Talk to you again soon.

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[–] luvthepros (797) 3 years ago

As I said in another thread, I'm glad you gave Spielberg's movie a try. You were always so totally against watching this film that I applaud you for your attempt.

I also said in the other thread that Spielberg's film is not a "remake/reboot" of the 1961 film. I'm not going to rehash everything I said about this but hope you will read what I had to say about Spielberg's adaptation of the 1957 Broadway stage play.

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[–] mplo (2356) 3 years ago

Thank you for giving me credit for giving Spielberg's reboot/remake of the film version of West Side Story a try. I knew that I would not like it much, and, I have to admit that I don't. Spielberg's film version was a 2nd adaptation of the 1957 Broadway stage play of WSS, and so was the old, original 1961 film version of WSS.

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[–] kenburke (2372) 3 years ago

I didn't like it either. You cannot re-make perfection.

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[–] mplo (2356) 3 years ago

I agree with you here, kenburke. Trying to re-make perfection all too often fails, miserably.

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[–] [deleted] 3 years ago

I wouldn't say the original was perfection, to me the original had problems. Mostly in some of the casting and production design. So I could have seen a remake so long as you addressed those areas and didn't hurt the rest of the movie that worked. But they didn't end up with better casting at all. Better casting to me would have been age appropriate actors that could really sing at a top level... That didn't happen. The set designs were in some instances better, but they really butchered the musical numbers especially when they decided Somewhere should be done by the old woman, I mean this to me one of the 2 biggest songs in the movie so when they take it away from the two mains it just defies explanation. To me the only thing they did better was realism of the sets, but everything else was worse than the original.

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[–] mplo (2356) 3 years ago

You've made some good points about the remake/reboot of the film version of West Side Story, but I do think, however, that the backdrop scenes of the 2021 film version of West Side Story looked too much like the tonier, wealthier parts of the city, rather than the impoverished, rough-and rundown parts of the city.
I really liked the fact that the late Boris Leven seamlessly combined both on-location scenes with sound stage scenes to create a backdrop that looked uncannily like the impoverished, rough-and-rundown parts of the city, rather than the tonier wealthier parts.

I also preferred the fact that in the original 1961 film version of West Side Story, the "America" scene was done at night, on a city tenement rooftop, rather than out on the streets, during the day, as was done in Spielberg's reboot/remake of the film West Side Story.

I, too, think that the "Somewhere" scene sung by Rita Moreno's Valentina was rather out of place, as well, and I stand by my opinion that creating such a rough-and-tough, grittier so-called realism about gangs and gang violence, which was portrayed in Spielberg's film version of West Side Story would be appropriate for a different story about gangs and gang violence, which might be appropriate for something such as "Rebel Without a Cause", or any other movie about gangs and gang violence, but totally inappropriate for something such as West Side Story.

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[–] luvthepros (797) 3 years ago

Spielberg did not remake the 1961 Robert Wise Film. Spielberg filmed another adaptation of the 1957 stage play of West Side Story. The source material is the West Side Story book for the stage play, not the film.

The stage play had a lot more realism and grit than the watered down version that is the 1961 film. Spielberg specifically has said in interviews that I have seen that he did not base his film on the Robert Wise film. Spielberg followed the book written for the WSS stage play.

In fact, before he passed away, Stephen Sondheim saw a screening of Spielberg's film. Sondheim made a statement that he much prefers Spielberg's adaptation of the 1957 stage play than the 1961 film. Stephen Sondheim's impression of both films means a lot to me.

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[–] mplo (2356) 3 years ago

I still have to disagree with the idea that Spielberg's film version of West Side Story was not a remake/reboot, because that's exactly what it was. The old, original 1961 film version, which was an adaptation of the original 1957 Broadway stage production of West Side Story, to me, was much more colorful, not so violent, not so bombastic, heavy and overdone, and, despite their prejudice towards the Sharks, the Jets ih the original 1961 film version of West Side Story, unlike the Jets in the 2021 film version of West Side Story, had their moments of fairness towards the Sharks.

I don't feel that the 1961 film version of West Side Story was watered down, either. Sure, the Jets and the Sharks were from different cultures, and were different races and ethnicities, but, despite these differences, both the Jets and the Sharks and the Jets in the original 1961 film version of West Side Story had a lot in common.

I really like the way that the late cinematographer, Daniel Fapp, used a lot of purples, reds, and blues to help tell a beautiful story. The 2021 film version was way too dark for me, and too much blue was used.

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[–] modica (4169) 3 years ago

I liked it. I didn't love it. I thought I would hate it, but I didn't. Maybe I expected it to be God awful, but it wasn't. First off, I really didn't care for the first 15 minutes or so. It just didn't gel with me. The dancing was not like the original, in fact, there was much less dancing in the beginning. I was ready to turn it off. I didn't like it. I forged on and some of it started to grow on me. Dance At The Gym was nice, but not as good as the original. Still quite good. I thought the cast was fine. Elgort was much better than Beymer. I really liked Mike Faist as Riff the most, but he was still no Tamblyn. I did like what they did with Cool, but it isn't as brilliant as the original. I fighting over the gun was nice. I didn't like how all the gang members were kind of all the same. I couldn't tell who was who. Besides Riff, Bernardo, Chino and Anybodies, I didn't know the rest of the gang members well. In the original they were very distinguishable. Didn't like the ending. It didn't have the same impact the original did.

Overall, I enjoyed much of it. I liked how they expanded on things, but the original is still the best movie musical ever.

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[–] mplo (2356) 3 years ago

Hi again, modica. Thank you for your reply to my post. I guess it's to each their own, but, overall, to be honest, the newer film version of West Side Story simply didn't feel right to me, overall. There are instances when a gritttier, rougher, and more realistic picture of how gangs and gang violence has been would be appropriate, but something like West Side Story does not fall into that category. West Side Story is a musical--it should also have some lightness to it, but it was sorely lacking in this newer film version.

I never thought that the 2021 film version of West Side Story would top the original 1961 film version in any way, and, to me, it didn't. The old 1961 film version of West Side Story can't be beaten. While I understand that people have different opinions, the original 1961 film version of West Side Story is the real deal, for me.

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[–] [deleted] 3 years ago

Everybody knows. Now let's start quieting down about it as it's starting to get a little irritating reading your repetitive notes on this film for several months now. The movie has come and gone. You didn't like it, which had been your position all along. It flopped so you should be happy. Let's move along now. Your obsession with this one film looks--frankly--a little crazy.

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[–] mplo (2356) 3 years ago

Ha ha ha! I'm not being half as crazy as YOU'RE acting, Metatron1970!! Yeh!! I am happy that it flopped. How's that for honesty? It was bound to flop, anyhow, because reboot/remakes of older classic films generally don't turn out well, to begin with.

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[–] liscarkat (18410) 3 years ago

It doesn't really matter at this point because the movie is already nearly forgotten. There will be a bit of a flare up on Oscar night, then it will soon sink into obscurity, while the 1961 version will remain a classic and never be forgotten.

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[–] mplo (2356) 3 years ago

Hi, liscarkat. Thank you for your response to my post, and for your good points. Given how things are going, regarding the 2021 film version of West Side Story, you're more than likely right.

The 1961 film version of West Side Story always has been a classic, and always will be. It's the real deal, to boot.

Take care, stay safe--all the best.

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