Jon M Chu's direction was phenomenal. Its Busby Berkeley meets dance-pop music video. Super precise, yet entirely modern and natural. It could have been more stylized tho, to blend with the storyline's theme of dreams vs reality and really give "In The Heights", more of an identity of its own as a film.
The screenplay lacked focus, creating a heavily padded story that could have been wrapped much earlier than the lengthy 143 minute runtime. It also occasionally verged into poverty porn™ tropes such as the on the nose sentiments that were clunkily inserted in and a sense of middle-class sugar coating that quickly soured as the film tried to handle more serious topics.
The music, written by Lin Manuel Miranda is serviceable, but undistinguished. it reaches an enormous high with the show-stopping "96,000" and never really lives up to it in the next hour. Several songs also feel like filler songs, featuring stagnant melodies and basic chord progressions. For such an apparently hard-hitting musical, I would have expected more hard-hitting material.
However, blending this music with the acute, fluid choreography raises this film from a mere popcorn musical to a necessity for modern musical fans. The main characters and even the extras, move with such impressive ease and proficiency that it makes the songs a joy to watch. The camera and the movements work hand in hand here, contrasting Cats from 2019, one of the last big-budget stage to screen musical adaptations, which neutered itself with poor direction of dance scenes.
All in all, it is elevated by a neat performance from Anthony Ramos and standout supporting players such as Daphne Rubin-Vega known for playing Mimi in RENT on Broadway. She plays the unforgettable flamboyant comic relief hairdresser Daniela and has a fun little number featuring dancing wigs (not joking!)
If you want a quaint, yet fun experience, "In The Heights", may be the hottest ticket in the cinema at the moment.