Predictable, silly, long…but what else would you expect from a musical? While having its annoying break outs of sing songy dialogue, the film managed to shine; showcasing a voice not to commonly heard, especially when it comes to film.
With vivid color, anthemic sound, and shocking star power I was blown away by this film. I was underwhelmed by the only minor usage of Lin Manuel Miranda…however the story isn’t about him, so this isn’t a plus or minus, just a surprise on my end. Never mind that I was initially in the wrong theatre room for the film's first 15 minutes + I took only one quick bathroom break during the death of a character. The heart of this 2.5 hour drama beats strong! You can feel it in the characters and very world they live in. Not to mention the humorous, somber, relatable and expected ballads that shine throughout. What I love most about this movie is that you can tell this was a fun process and cast to be on set with. It made me want to get up and dance right in the theatre.
Few Film Flaws
Ok, so no film is perfect right? Aside from this being a predictable story, my main criticism would be that this musical was advertised to have one main character, Usnavi de la Vega, yet there are actually a ton of characters...more than you'd expect. Sometimes the B-Story character stories tend to over power the A-Story one. By the end, they all somewhat time together but it's a bit much at the opening.
There's also one or two continuity errors; A character is rushing to catch a flight for the following day, but then 30 days go by before he actually is about to leave. This along with a story telling element this same character does with others, appearing to be in one location while actually in another.
★★★★.5/5
Favorite parts of "In The Heights"
Music: A1!!
The Choreography
Cast: Who knew Rosa from Brooklyn 99 could sing?
Cinematography: Particularly this one scene at the last 20 or so minutes of the film. You'll see some real movie magic. You'll know it when you see it.
I also need to re-watch!