First Take: In the Heights- best enjoyed loud.

SYNOPSIS: A film version of the Broadway musical in which Usnavi, a sympathetic New York bodega owner, saves every penny every day as he imagines and sings about a better life.

The Vue team had a lot of input in this year’s marathon- including picking the final film of the schedule. This is what they picked, and my word, they have good taste, as the film adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda and Quiara Alegría Hudes’ 2008 Broadway breakthrough is a true big screen musical for this generation.

Taking the directors seat is Jon M Chu, the man behind 2018′s Crazy Rich Asians and 2016 Marathon film Now You See Me 2, and it feels like the film he was born direct- there is a clear emphasis on scale, something which is important for a musical film of this kind, but at 2 hours 23 minutes (even with some major changes compared to the show), it feels like 10-15 minutes could have been cut to make it a tighter release. On script duties is Quiara Alegría Hudes herself, adapting the characters she knows so well for a more refined Hollywood production, and with Alice Brooks behind the camera, Alex Lacamoire and Bill Sherman handling the original music, and Mitchell Travers - a man who has had a lot of input on releases like Hustlers - in charge of costumes, there isn’t much to fault on a technical front.

Leading the cast is one of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s frequent collaborators- Anthony Ramos takes the role of Usnavi and truly makes it his own, plus with a cast which includes Corey Hawkins, Leslie Grace, Jimmy Smits, Gregory Diaz IV, Melissa Barrera and Olga Merediz reprising her role from the original production, alongside cameos which simply cannot be spoiled (they are related to the original Broadway production), this is a faithful adaptation which feels right at home on the big screen. It may not be perfect, but if superheroes, fast cars or animated films aren’t your thing, this is a nice and safe, if a little contentious at times for its rating, PG release.

THE VERDICT

In The Heights is a fun big screen musical that has its problems at times, but all things considered, it was a worthy pick to close out the 2021 Marathon. It doesn’t have long left in cinemas with the new window, so get on it while you still can.

RATING: 4/5