Steven Spielberg's eloquent and graceful "West Side Story" opens with the familiar image of the Jets prowling across New York City. They toss paint cans to one another, gathering in larger numbers as they slink and slide through the streets. Occasionally, their strides break into a dance move—a spin or a slide across the pavement—always in unison. It's almost as if they can't help it, as if they need to express themselves through movement. Much of "West Side Story" is about that need, that sense of something under the surface that just has to escape—restlessness, passion, anger, displacement—the sense that "something's coming" that so many people feel when they're young. Immediately, one can feel the craftsmanship of this restaging of the classic Broadway smash. The camera doesn't just capture action on a set—it glides with the performers, and we glide along with them. The editing avoids the choppy rhythms of so many recent musicals, allowing viewers to feel motion and connection. We are instantly hooked and will be for the next 2.5 hours. Fans of the original stage production and beloved film will argue over the need for a 2021 version of "West Side Story," although restaging a classic play is an annual event in major theaters around the world. For some reason, remakes in film are more often seen as attempts to supplant an original whereas theater goers are accustomed to the process of new voices interpreting classic texts. The new voices here are those of absolute geniuses, including Spielberg, writer Tony Kushner (Angels in America), cinematographer Janusz Kaminski, choreographer Justin Peck, and a stunning ensemble of new voices and talented veterans. Kushner and Spielberg have stayed loyal to the play and original film while also making notable changes in a way that makes it fresh and vibrant. And they have staged their production in a way that's often mesmerizing. One misguided casting decision holds it back from absolute greatness but there are so many breathtaking, perfect sequences in this "West Side Story" that I suspect it will do what the original did for a lot of people, including this critic who was raised on movie musicals—make them a fan of the entire genre.