West Side Story Film Review

When I first found out that we were watching ‘West Side Story’. I thought “Excellent” a movie that modernises a great classic like Romeo and Juliet to better the enjoyment of us teenagers, so far so good right?... NOT (I thought it was too good to be true). Apart from the many terrible things in this movies, such as the time wasting opening sequence that had annoyingly bright colours and took the same time length as the first scene, ‘West Side Story’ is like being strapped in a chair and having needles dug into your eye sockets continuously, except this form of pain would take less time as you wouldn’t survive to see the ending. If you’re going to watch this film because you’re excepting it to live up to all the great 20th century Fox block buster hits such as X-Men, Moulin Rouge, Titanic etc, then prepare to be disappointed as one would wonder why such a great production company would agree to be associated with such a cheap uncreative movie.
Set in gang infested 1950’s New York where there are two main groups, the Jets, an all white American gang who taunt the members of the Sharks, a gang of all first generation Puerto Ricans. Tony, one of the head Jet (played by Richard Beymer), falls in love with the sister of the head Shark Maria (played by Natalie wood) fighting against all odds to be together .The film shows the struggle of the two lovers through music and dance (how original-like we don’t already have enough of these in the world). On the way, the two gangs have a fight to gain control of the streets but ends in the death of Maria’s brother Bernardo (played by George Chakiris). Anita (Bernado’s fiancée) comes to give a message to Tony from Maria but is harassed by the Jets and instead chooses to lie and say that Maria is dead. Without even getting to the end of the story, Tony dies in Maria’s arms after being shot by Chino one of the sharks. Completely changing the historic Romeo and Juliet love endured ending, west side story ends with a big hysterical...