The Oscars are under way and as promised we have our first look at Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of West Side Story. Our Thoughts!

Aesthetic: The whistle, the dawn, the New York buildings that felt like characters in the 1961 version; it feels like Spielberg knows what he’s working with right out of the gates on this teaser and I love it.

I adore the use of color. The Puerto Rican’s, or the Sharks, have such vibrant reds, yellows, and oranges leaving the Jets in a toned down denim. Spielberg looks like he’s not just bringing the musical to life but he’s also trying to pay homage to the original film all those years ago which is fantastic!

The Couple: The trailer gives us our first look at the film’s leads! Rachel Zegler looks lovely as Maria in the signature white dress. I’m looking forward to her performance. Ansel Elgort looks FINE. He is still not the actor I would have liked for Tony, but hey, actors can change a guy’s mind with a great performance. I’m hoping the two of them have at least half the chemistry that Richard Beymer and Natalie Wood had in 1961. There was something electric between them but at the same time innocent. They really caught that life and naive nature of young love. The Trailer only gives a brief second of them together at the fire escape, so no real clues on their chemistry but here’s hoping.

Bernardo and Anita: These are my favorite characters from the musical. What Rita Moreno did with Anita in 1961 is INSANE. She brought such a PERSONALITY to that role. Her Performance in ‘America’ is one of my favorite musical performances in a film ever. She deserved that oscar. Ariana DeBose has her work cut out for her! She looks stunning in the trailer and can’t wait to see more.

Bernardo? HANDSOME. Looks fantastic. Bernardo really should have that latin machismo perfectly fused with expert seduction. Again, it’s a teaser, but his moment among the colorful laundry with Anita is- chef’s kiss. Now, if the two of them outshine the lead romance I would be fine with it!

Overall the trailer really just gives us a taste on the overall feel for what we’ll be getting this December. No preview of iconic songs just yet but for those that are fans of the musical I think the teaser did a great job at letting us know the material is in very good hands.