Hitting theaters worldwide on Oct. 13, Taylor Swift’s movie, “The Eras Tour,” quickly became the subject of every news outlet and social media post. Making almost $124 million in ticket sales, it’s now the highest-grossing concert film of all time. Fans around the world came together to celebrate this once-in-a-lifetime experience.
However, many were skeptical about how worthwhile the experience would be, considering some fans were proclaiming on TikTok and other social media platforms that they would be “screaming and dancing” in the movie theater. To find out if people were going to go through with their claims, I attended the movie’s opening night, and the experience was most definitely one worth repeating.
Walking into the theater, the energy was unreal, with everyone buzzing with excitement and dressed up in various costumes. People of all ages were scattered around, talking excitedly with each other, trading friendship bracelets and buying the slightly-overpriced merchandise at the counters. The scene was reminiscent of how people behaved during the actual concerts during the Eras Tour.
Soon a countdown appeared – the same one that appeared onstage before the concert started – and it was 13 seconds long, a reference to Swift’s favorite number. As soon as the camera started panning down towards the stage, everyone was cheering as if we were physically there at the concert.
Not compromising on a single aspect of the tour, the cameras caught every angle of the opening in the most immersive and illustrative way. Starting with the “Lover” era, a title card appeared right after her entrance, signaling the beginning of the era.
The energy was soon interrupted by confused protests, because the movie had cut out a fan favorite, “The Archer.” However, for those who did not know the setlist by heart, the editing makes it seem as though no song was cut.
It then transitioned into “Fearless” with golden sparkles falling across the screen as the word “Fearless” lit up. Until now, the audience’s energy was merely from our seats. However, once Swift started singing one of her most famous songs “You Belong with Me,” people started getting up from their seats to dance and sing along with each other. Throughout the “Fearless” set, everyone was out of their seats enjoying the music and having a great time. No songs were cut from this era.
As the next era, “Evermore,” began, the audience quieted and just took in the amazing choreography and vibrant colors that were being shown. The camera work was nothing short of impeccable, capturing just how majestic the choreography was and completely delivering the concert experience to everyone sitting in the theater.
The energy kicked up to double what it was for “Fearless” when it was time for “Reputation” to take over. The editing team knocked it out of the park, showing a large CGI snake wrapping around the stage as the title card flashed on screen. This was the era that felt most like a concert: everyone was singing along louder than before, and some were dancing at the very front of the screen. There was no screeching, however, just a lot of excited (and slightly off-key) singing. The visuals for this era were captured perfectly with the camera following Swift from the front as she sang. In addition to singing along, the concert chants were included, fueling the concert feeling throughout.
Once the “Reputation” set ended, the words “Speak Now” appeared in sparkly, purple cursive, while people returned to their seats to take in the breathtaking dress that Swift was wearing. She performed “Enchanted” and retreated onto the stage, much to the surprise of the fans. One of the major deal breakers for a lot of people about this movie was that Swift had decided to cut out “Long Live,” a song which was made solely for the fans. The news had initially devastated everyone in the theater, as what better environment to scream the song made for you than in a theater with others who share the same love?
Transitioning from “Speak Now” into the “Red” era, we were met with a flurry of red balloons flooding the screen and revealing the word “RED.” All the songs were met with the same energy “Fearless” had gotten, though it didn’t quite come near the enthusiasm for “Reputation.” This era offered many more camera angles, but there wasn’t much else that was memorable from this part of the movie. If you were to take a bathroom break anywhere in this movie, it would be during this era, specifically during the ten-minute version of “All Too Well.”
Much like the “Red” era, “Folklore” wasn’t very memorable. However, it is worth noting that the choreography was beautifully captured, as was the effort of the dancers. One eye-catching shot was when the camera slowly walked out onto the stage from behind one of the dancers. It offered a slight glimpse into the behind-the-scenes charm that we all wanted to see from the Eras Tour.
“1989” started off with “Style,” known to be one of her most danceable songs, resulting in everybody standing up for the first time in the movie. She played two more singles from “1989,” before wrapping up with some stunning fire effects, lighting up the entire room. Although Swift cut out “Wildest Dreams,” from the “1989” set, there seemed to be nothing missing during the entire performance. Like the energy that had emerged during “Reputation,” “1989” was full of dancing and fun.
Choosing the songs “You’re on Your Own, Kid,” from her most recent album and “Our Song,” from her debut album, Swift captured the feeling of a true Eras Tour in one film. Starting with a song from her first journey into the music industry and ending with a song about the culmination of her career, Swift managed to span 10 years of music through two songs. By the time the word “Midnights” flashed upon the screen, the energy had weakened a bit with the knowledge that it would be over soon. But the enthusiasm picked up when the final song started playing, with almost half the theater running down to dance in front of the screen and continuing to dance during the credits set to “Long Live.”
Overall, the movie perfectly captured the excitement of a Taylor Swift concert and is worth checking out for those who were not able to get tickets for the actual concert, or even as a fun experience on its own.
