Cos' I Said So...
By Jocelyn Cosgrove
By Jocelyn Cosgrove
After being pushed back a year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Steven Spielberg’s remake of “West Side Story” was released in theaters on Dec. 10, 2021, 60 years after the original movie came out.
Set in the 1950s, two rival gangs, the Jets and the Sharks, fight for territory in the Upper West Side of New York City. While the gangs are at the school dance, two of their members, Maria who is played by Rachel Zegler, the sister to the Shark leader, and Tony who is played by Ansel Elgort, the retired Jet, fall in love. For the rest of the movie, the two try to navigate being with each other, but also trying to stay loyal to their respective gangs.
“West Side Story” is one of those movies that you love because of how good it is, but you hate because of what story it is based on. For the case of “West Side Story,” it is based off of “Romeo and Juliet,” so it features the rival sides, the forbidden love, and the death that brings the two sides together in the end.
Other than the obvious resemblance to “Romeo and Juliet,” I really enjoyed “West Side Story.” Everything about it brings you in: the music, the dancing, the characters, and the story itself. It is a very well written movie, and the acting, singing and dancing for this movie were amazing.
Over the years I have seen that there are only a few times when a remake of a really popular movie is better or close to being better than the original. The newest “West Side Story” is one of those movies to be almost better than the original and for good reason. “West Side Story” is a movie I recommend to anyone in need of a forbidden love story in 1950s New York City.
Set in the 1950s, two rival gangs, the Jets and the Sharks, fight for territory in the Upper West Side of New York City. While the gangs are at the school dance, two of their members, Maria who is played by Rachel Zegler, the sister to the Shark leader, and Tony who is played by Ansel Elgort, the retired Jet, fall in love. For the rest of the movie, the two try to navigate being with each other, but also trying to stay loyal to their respective gangs.
“West Side Story” is one of those movies that you love because of how good it is, but you hate because of what story it is based on. For the case of “West Side Story,” it is based off of “Romeo and Juliet,” so it features the rival sides, the forbidden love, and the death that brings the two sides together in the end.
Other than the obvious resemblance to “Romeo and Juliet,” I really enjoyed “West Side Story.” Everything about it brings you in: the music, the dancing, the characters, and the story itself. It is a very well written movie, and the acting, singing and dancing for this movie were amazing.
Over the years I have seen that there are only a few times when a remake of a really popular movie is better or close to being better than the original. The newest “West Side Story” is one of those movies to be almost better than the original and for good reason. “West Side Story” is a movie I recommend to anyone in need of a forbidden love story in 1950s New York City.