West Side Story

Spielberg's remake of the famous 60s musical. It's not much of an update though, Spielberg keeps the setting and songs pretty much identical. Apart from some slightly more contemporary technical achievements, it's just the same old thing. As someone who didn't care one bit for the original film, that's not great.

Two rival gangs fight for their turf in the poorer quarters of New York. When Tony (of The Jets) starts dating Maria (part of The Sharks), all hell breaks loose. Tony wants out of The Jets, but that doesn't calm the situation down. Maria forces Tony to try and stop the fight, which only seems to make things worse.

Basic stereotypes, a drawn out romance and a handful of familiar songs. The cinematography could've been better, the music feels very dated, and the performances are mediocre at best. Two and a half hours is way too long for a simple film like this, a very poor update of a terrible original.