West Side Story 2021
7.2 / 10
West Side Story
Two youngsters from rival New York City gangs fall in love, but tensions between their respective friends build toward tragedy.
Two youngsters from rival New York City gangs fall in love, but tensions between their respective friends build toward tragedy.
Videos & Photos
All 2 Videos & 112 Photos
cast
Full Cast & Crew
... Tony
... María
... Anita
... Bernardo
... Riff
... Officer Krupke
User reviews
See All 3 Reviews15 Jan 2022 by dfle3
West Side story: Gritty morality tale with an emotional punch. 85% Not having seen the stage production of "West Side story" or its first film version, which I understand is regarded as a classic, I really don't have a point of comparison for this new film version of the long-running musical theatre staple. Of course, with the US being so effective at exporting its pop culture around the world, I was aware of songs and scenes from the original Hollywood film, which had positive associations for me, even though I live in Australia. The story was inspired by a much earlier tale, which I won't mention here because...spoilers. In any case, the second film version (presumably...at least as far as US film versions go) of this story is set in a slum in New York in the 1950s (the "West Side" of the title). The setting is very nicely established, with an opening shot of some partially destroyed buildings which a sign states are being demolished to make way for the gentrification of the area. The flats in the high-rise buildings nearby have a suitably "slummy" look without the aesthetic being overdone. From out of this no man's land emerges what turns out be a gang of Anglo background, known as "The Jets". You can tell that they they are bad because they soon terrorise the neighbourhood with dancing and singing, with no one daring to stop them. It has to be said, at this point, the realisation of a musical in the modern era hasn't lost my interest. Fit young blokes dancing and singing and clicking their fingers in time in the streets of a big city doesn't seem all that ridiculous now. We soon learn that The Jets have a rival group which they want to remove from 'their turf', a gang known as "The Sharks", which are of Puerto Rican ethnicity. The basis of The Jets' animosity to The Sharks is basically an issue of race (and that is also the basis of the police department's animosity towards The Sharks as well). The Sharks do not 'belong' in the US and they should 'go back to where they came from'. The first encounter we see between these two rival gangs is a violent one and it's pretty clear that things will escalate from here between them. If you're thinking that nothing thrown into this tinderbox could make it any more flammable, well...enter Tony (played by Ansel Elgort) and Maria (Rachel Zegler). Tony is the co-founder of The Jets but after a stint in prison for a shocking beating he gave to an Eyptian man, he is trying to be a better person, now holding down a steady job and no longer involved in his gang's activities. Maria is the sister of Bernardo (David Alvarez), a man who is trying to fight his way out of the slum (literally). Bernardo has a chip on his shoulder about the Anglos, who make life difficult for his community. He plays the father-figure at the flat that he shares with his girlfriend and Maria. The prospect of Maria dating a "gringo" is unacceptable to him, as we later find out when...Tony and Maria meet at a dance event and...instantly fall in love. He is also the leader of The Sharks. That moment when Tony and Maria fall in love at first sight is very sweetly done. Maria, as played by Zegler, seems like an old-fashioned Disney princess at first, being very timid but then being quite forward...perhaps like a (modern day?) Disney princess? (Since I'm not well-versed in Disney films about princesses, I'll have to defer to the judgement of people more informed than me on this subject.) The lyric from the song "Hurts so good" by John Cougar comes to mind about her: "you ain't as green as you are young". Zegler/Maria is very attractive in a winsome way. Director Steven Spielberg has really captured a winning performance from her. It occurred to me after writing down my initial thoughts on this film that Zegler would be a worthy nominee for "Best actress" at awards time. Even though I haven't really seen many 'quality' films this year, I think I know a quality performance when I see one and I don't think that a best actress award for her would be undeserved. If you think that Maria couldn't be any more adorable, well, you should hear her sing. She has a lovely voice, in my view. To me, she's the standout voice of the musical. Elgort tends towards falsetto at times. On the subject of the music, I'd say that I'm pretty sure that if you just wanted to listen to the musical on CD or whatever, then there would be better versions of that from previous productions of this story, whether on stage or screen. By that I mean perhaps the music elsewhere is bolder, brassier or arranged more pleasingly (to my ears, at least) and that would apply to the vocal performances as well. However, since I haven't heard other versions, I can't recommend one for you. It also later occurred to me how similar Tony and Bernardo are (which I've retrospectively alluded to in my earlier comments about how both of them plan to get out of the slum). Another point of comparison with Bernardo would be The Jets' new leader, "Riff" (Mike Faist). They both mirror each other as far as attitudes to "the other" goes. In any case, just when Tony thought he was out, Riff pulls him back in again, as far as gang activities go. I liked this film and had moments of recognition with it, with regards to clicking fingers and many songs. One event which did jar with me was how Maria reacted to Tony when she heard some fateful news about him. It just didn't ring true to me. Maybe with a greater passage of time it could have worked. Later, when the police officer goes over the whole timeline, the short duration was a shock too. The film was on track for a score of 80% from me but since the drama near the end of the film elicited emotion from me, I added another 5% to my score to reflect that. Random notes: *Is the ending different to previous versions of this story? If it is, you can either read it as a return to sanity as far as character motivation goes or as a Steven Spielberg tendency. *There is some realism to the violence, so not suitable for very young children, I don't think. *I couldn't quite tell if there was some strong swearing at times or if it was toned down. *Curios: 5c for a Milky Way chocolate bar, $15 for a fashionable store scarf, I think.
Release Date:
Dec 08, 2021 (United States)
Run Time:
2hr 36`
MMPA Rating:
PG-13
Original Language:
English
Production Countries:
United States
Status:
Released
Plot Keywords:
Related Movies To
West Side Story
West Side story: Gritty morality tale with an emotional punch. 85% Not having seen the stage production of "West Side story" or its first film version, which I understand is regarded as a classic, I really don't have a point of comparison for this new film version of the long-running musical theatre staple. Of course, with the US being so effective at exporting its pop culture around the world, I was aware of songs and scenes from the original Hollywood film, which had positive associations for me, even though I live in Australia. The story was inspired by a much earlier tale, which I won't mention here because...spoilers. In any case, the second film version (presumably...at least as far as US film versions go) of this story is set in a slum in New York in the 1950s (the "West Side" of the title). The setting is very nicely established, with an opening shot of some partially destroyed buildings which a sign states are being demolished to make way for the gentrification of the area. The flats in the high-rise buildings nearby have a suitably "slummy" look without the aesthetic being overdone. From out of this no man's land emerges what turns out be a gang of Anglo background, known as "The Jets". You can tell that they they are bad because they soon terrorise the neighbourhood with dancing and singing, with no one daring to stop them. It has to be said, at this point, the realisation of a musical in the modern era hasn't lost my interest. Fit young blokes dancing and singing and clicking their fingers in time in the streets of a big city doesn't seem all that ridiculous now. We soon learn that The Jets have a rival group which they want to remove from 'their turf', a gang known as "The Sharks", which are of Puerto Rican ethnicity. The basis of The Jets' animosity to The Sharks is basically an issue of race (and that is also the basis of the police department's animosity towards The Sharks as well). The Sharks do not 'belong' in the US and they should 'go back to where they came from'. The first encounter we see between these two rival gangs is a violent one and it's pretty clear that things will escalate from here between them. If you're thinking that nothing thrown into this tinderbox could make it any more flammable, well...enter Tony (played by Ansel Elgort) and Maria (Rachel Zegler). Tony is the co-founder of The Jets but after a stint in prison for a shocking beating he gave to an Eyptian man, he is trying to be a better person, now holding down a steady job and no longer involved in his gang's activities. Maria is the sister of Bernardo (David Alvarez), a man who is trying to fight his way out of the slum (literally). Bernardo has a chip on his shoulder about the Anglos, who make life difficult for his community. He plays the father-figure at the flat that he shares with his girlfriend and Maria. The prospect of Maria dating a "gringo" is unacceptable to him, as we later find out when...Tony and Maria meet at a dance event and...instantly fall in love. He is also the leader of The Sharks. That moment when Tony and Maria fall in love at first sight is very sweetly done. Maria, as played by Zegler, seems like an old-fashioned Disney princess at first, being very timid but then being quite forward...perhaps like a (modern day?) Disney princess? (Since I'm not well-versed in Disney films about princesses, I'll have to defer to the judgement of people more informed than me on this subject.) The lyric from the song "Hurts so good" by John Cougar comes to mind about her: "you ain't as green as you are young". Zegler/Maria is very attractive in a winsome way. Director Steven Spielberg has really captured a winning performance from her. It occurred to me after writing down my initial thoughts on this film that Zegler would be a worthy nominee for "Best actress" at awards time. Even though I haven't really seen many 'quality' films this year, I think I know a quality performance when I see one and I don't think that a best actress award for her would be undeserved. If you think that Maria couldn't be any more adorable, well, you should hear her sing. She has a lovely voice, in my view. To me, she's the standout voice of the musical. Elgort tends towards falsetto at times. On the subject of the music, I'd say that I'm pretty sure that if you just wanted to listen to the musical on CD or whatever, then there would be better versions of that from previous productions of this story, whether on stage or screen. By that I mean perhaps the music elsewhere is bolder, brassier or arranged more pleasingly (to my ears, at least) and that would apply to the vocal performances as well. However, since I haven't heard other versions, I can't recommend one for you. It also later occurred to me how similar Tony and Bernardo are (which I've retrospectively alluded to in my earlier comments about how both of them plan to get out of the slum). Another point of comparison with Bernardo would be The Jets' new leader, "Riff" (Mike Faist). They both mirror each other as far as attitudes to "the other" goes. In any case, just when Tony thought he was out, Riff pulls him back in again, as far as gang activities go. I liked this film and had moments of recognition with it, with regards to clicking fingers and many songs. One event which did jar with me was how Maria reacted to Tony when she heard some fateful news about him. It just didn't ring true to me. Maybe with a greater passage of time it could have worked. Later, when the police officer goes over the whole timeline, the short duration was a shock too. The film was on track for a score of 80% from me but since the drama near the end of the film elicited emotion from me, I added another 5% to my score to reflect that. Random notes: *Is the ending different to previous versions of this story? If it is, you can either read it as a return to sanity as far as character motivation goes or as a Steven Spielberg tendency. *There is some realism to the violence, so not suitable for very young children, I don't think. *I couldn't quite tell if there was some strong swearing at times or if it was toned down. *Curios: 5c for a Milky Way chocolate bar, $15 for a fashionable store scarf, I think.
Good production. I liked the performers, except Ansel Elgort as the lead male, Tony, who I found to be uninteresting. I never got into the story or the songs. A couple of other thoughts: * Carefully choreographed Broadway-style dance routines severely diminish the menace of street gangs. * Love at first sight is a myth and is a very bad reason to kill or be killed. (Intense attraction, curiosity, and lust at first sight, sure, but love takes longer.)
Full review: https://www.tinakakadelis.com/beyond-the-cinerama-dome/2021/12/28/it-all-begins-tonight-west-side-story-review This film is a still (sadly) all-too-relevant story about how hatred infiltrates communities and the struggle to find a place to belong. West Side Story is about creating a home, however, you choose to define the word. Unfortunately, the miscasting of Tony brings down what could have been a near-perfect movie. His role is simply too large to be ignored and impossible to compare to his co-stars’ formidable, sublime performances.
Cast & Crew of
West Side Story
Directors & Credit Writers
... Director
AS
Adam Somner... First Assistant Director
JM
Jeremy Marks... Second Assistant Director
Cast
... Tony
... María
... Anita
... Bernardo
... Riff
... Officer Krupke
... Lieutenant Schrank
... Valentina
... Chino
... Rosalía
... Luz
... Anybodys
... Quique
... Charita
... Aníbal
... Braulio
... Chago
... Flaco
... Jochi
AF
Adriel Flete... Julito
Produced By
Videos & Photos of
West Side Story
Videos ( 2)
Official Trailer
YouTube
Special Look
YouTube
Photos ( 112 )
Related Movies To
West Side Story
Ballerina (2025)
0 /10
Taking place during the events of John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, Eve Macarro begins her training in the assassin traditions of the Ruska Roma.
Run Time: 2hr 5` . MMPA: R . Release: 04 Jun 2025
Director: Len Wiseman , Chad Stahelski , Darrin Prescott
Producer: Keanu Reeves , Louise Rosner-Meyer , Kaley Smalley Romo
Stars: Ana de Armas , Ian McShane , Anjelica Huston , Norman Reedus , Keanu Reeves , Lance Reddick
Ice Road: Vengeance (2025)
0 /10
Big rig ice road driver Mike McCann travels to Nepal to scatter his late brother’s ashes on Mt. Everest. While on a packed tour bus traversing the deadly 12,000 ft. terrain of the infamous Road to the Sky, McCann and his mountain guide encounter a group of mercenaries and must fight to save themselves, the busload of innocent travelers, and the local villagers’ homeland.
Run Time: 1hr 53` . MMPA: R . Release: 27 Jun 2025
Director: Jonathan Hensleigh
Producer: Al Corley , Jonathan Dana , David Tish
Stars: Liam Neeson , Fan Bingbing , Marcus Thomas , Mahesh Jadu , Bernard Curry , Michala Banas
The Twisters (2024)
0 /10
A deadly patchwork of destructive cyclones is on an apocalyptic path of convergence at a populated Midwest city center. There, the twisters will merge into one mega tornado that threatens to obliterate the cities for hundreds of miles around.
Run Time: 1hr 27` . MMPA: . Release: 28 Jun 2024
Director: Michael Su
Producer: Avery Guerra , Kasia Szarek , David Rimawi
Stars: Kayla Fields , Mark Justice , Paul Logan , Curtis Strong , Tiffany , Sofia Riba
First Shift (2024)
0 /10
NYPD veteran Mike and rookie Angela tackle a high-stakes day on New York's toughest streets, diving headfirst into a vortex of danger and action. Their adrenaline-fueled pursuits and unexpected threats unfold as they navigate perilous encounters. Amidst the chaos, intense challenges forge unbreakable bonds.
Run Time: 1hr 29` . MMPA: . Release: 30 Aug 2024
Director: Uwe Boll , Béla Baptiste , Phillip Rush
Producer: Uwe Boll , Patrick Grzanna , Judy Bowman
Stars: Kristen Renton , Gino Anthony Pesi , James McMenamin , Garry Pastore , Willie C. Carpenter , Michael Emery
F1 (2025)
0 /10
Racing legend Sonny Hayes is coaxed out of retirement to lead a struggling Formula 1 team—and mentor a young hotshot driver—while chasing one more chance at glory.
Run Time: 2hr 36` . MMPA: PG-13 . Release: 25 Jun 2025
Director: Joseph Kosinski , Zoe Morgan , Lisa Vick
Producer: Jerry Bruckheimer , Nataša Milojević , Brad Pitt
Stars: Brad Pitt , Damson Idris , Kerry Condon , Tobias Menzies , Lewis Hamilton , Javier Bardem
Breathing In (2023)
0 /10
1901, South Africa. As the Second Anglo-Boer War rages on, a wounded General seeks refuge in the small home of a woman and her young daughter. As the hurt man settles in, he begins noticing that something is off about the two women, particularly the daughter, and before long, he’ll learn the real reason for why they’ve invited him and for how they’ve survived on their own for so long.
Run Time: 1hr 45` . MMPA: . Release: 18 Oct 2023
Director: Jaco Bouwer
Producer:
Stars: Michele Burgers , Sven Ruygrok , Jamie-Lee Money , Lionel Newton
STRAW (2025)
0 /10
What will be her last straw? A devastatingly bad day pushes a hardworking single mother to the breaking point — and into a shocking act of desperation.
Run Time: 1hr 45` . MMPA: R . Release: 05 Jun 2025
Director: Tyler Perry , Diann Malcolm , Nicholas Hiles
Producer: Kim Taylor-Coleman , Carole Wurst , Tyler Perry
Stars: Taraji P. Henson , Sherri Shepherd , Teyana Taylor , Sinbad , Rockmond Dunbar , Ashley Versher
Baywatch (2017)
5.5 /10
Devoted lifeguard Mitch Buchannon butts heads with a brash new recruit. Together, they uncover a local criminal plot that threatens the future of the Bay.
Run Time: 1hr 56` . MMPA: R . Release: 25 May 2017
Director: Seth Gordon , Carmen Soriano
Producer: John Papsidera , Brent Caballero , Tom Pollock
Stars: Dwayne Johnson , Zac Efron , Priyanka Chopra Jonas , Alexandra Daddario , Jon Bass , Hannibal Buress
The Accountant² (2025)
0 /10
When an old acquaintance is murdered, Wolff is compelled to solve the case. Realizing more extreme measures are necessary, Wolff recruits his estranged and highly lethal brother, Brax, to help. In partnership with Marybeth Medina, they uncover a deadly conspiracy, becoming targets of a ruthless network of killers who will stop at nothing to keep their secrets buried.
Run Time: 2hr 13` . MMPA: R . Release: 23 Apr 2025
Director: Alina Gatti , Mariela Comitini , Fernando Chien
Producer: Kevin Halloran , Sasha Veneziano , Lynette Howell Taylor
Stars: Ben Affleck , Jon Bernthal , J.K. Simmons , Cynthia Addai-Robinson , Daniella Pineda , Alison Robertson
A Working Man (2025)
0 /10
Levon Cade left behind a decorated military career in the black ops to live a simple life working construction. But when his boss's daughter, who is like family to him, is taken by human traffickers, his search to bring her home uncovers a world of corruption far greater than he ever could have imagined.
Run Time: 1hr 56` . MMPA: R . Release: 26 Mar 2025
Director: Tom White , Kaya Frances Moore , Eddie J. Fernandez
Producer: Bill Block , Chris Long , Sylvester Stallone
Stars: Jason Statham , David Harbour , Michael Peña , Jason Flemyng , Arianna Rivas , Noemi Gonzalez
Deep Cover (2025)
0 /10
Kat is an improv comedy teacher beginning to question if she’s missed her shot at success. When an undercover cop offers her the role of a lifetime, she recruits two of her students to infiltrate London’s gangland by impersonating dangerous criminals.
Run Time: 1hr 39` . MMPA: R . Release: 12 Jun 2025
Director: Kelly Maracin Krieg , Tom Kingsley
Producer: Tim Dennison , Annys Hamilton , Laurie MacDonald
Stars: Bryce Dallas Howard , Orlando Bloom , Sean Bean , Paddy Considine , Ian McShane , Nick Mohammed
Life After Fighting (2024)
0 /10
Retired martial arts world champion Alex Faulkner has settled into a simple life, when the disappearance of two of his students leads to an unthinkable discovery close to home. Just when all hope of finding the children is lost, he locates the imprisoned girls and unsurfaces an international child trafficking operation, which draws him back into the fight of his life against those behind it.
Run Time: 2hr 6` . MMPA: . Release: 07 Jun 2024
Director: Bren Foster
Producer: Navid Bahadori , Chelsea Jean Foster , Bren Foster
Stars: Bren Foster , Cassie Howarth , Luke Ford , Annabelle Stephenson , Anthony Nassif , Arielle Jean Foster