Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour has broken many records and the highly anticipated film has taken theaters all over the world by storm. You might be asking yourself what the experience is like and does it live up to the hype? Well, I’m here to inform you that it absolutely does.
The movie is amazing and adds a new level of dimension not featured on the tour. The film is obviously better quality than going to the tour because you can see Swift more clearly. One of my favorite parts of the format is that for every Era (one of Swift’s albums) the name is shown on screen in the album’s signature ‘Style’ and font. One of the most unexpected parts of the film is the CGI used. During the intro to Reputation, a snake is animated to curl around the stage. It was shocking and a great surprise that added lots of suspense and excitement.
The film contains the majority of the songs from the tour but devastatingly, “The Archer,” “no body, no crime,” “seven,” “tis the damn season,” “Long Live,” “Wildest Dreams,” and “cardigan” were cut, though Long Live is played during the Credits. The movie is still entertaining and fun to watch, it’s just a little disappointing that these iconic songs were cut. Many of the era’s introductions were shortened as well. I would have gladly stayed another hour if the movie had not been shortened.
The atmosphere in the theater was just as good as the film, if not better. My row of seats was filled with some of the nicest girls I’ve ever met. We danced and sang together, though we tried to sit for the most part so as not to block the view of the people behind us. The majority of the theater was standing and dancing and almost everyone was singing. At one point people turned on their phone flashlights and started waving them. There are chants audiences will scream during the tour, and it was fun to see it incorporated by the movie’s audience. Everyone was having such a good time and the energy was contagious. My favorite of the eras to watch was “1989” since everyone in the theater got up to dance.
The best part about the film, other than the actual film, is the bracelet trading. This was adopted by fans after a lyric from “Your On Your Own, Kid” (A song from the Midnights album): “So make the friendship bracelets, take the moment and taste it.” I was excited and prepared after spending all week making bracelets. In the end, the hard work paid off when I got to trade them with fellow swifties. It was fun and just requires a little bit of asking around. I would just walk by people with bracelets and ask to trade or ask others in the theater. The only downside is that I probably lost circulation in my arm from the amount of bracelets I was wearing. If others want to trade bracelets, I recommend having one arm with bracelets you want to keep and one with bracelets that you’d like to trade.
The film was the highlight of the month for me but there is still room for improvement. I believe the cut songs should be added back because even though the film would be longer, I have no doubt that dedicated fans would have no problem with staying. Some of the Eras only had a couple of songs like Taylor Swift, her debut album. This could have been improved by playing one or two more songs from the album.
The film is a great experience and a cheaper way to get the Eras Tour experience, though I’m still going to try and get my hands on a ticket to the actual tour. While others might think the movie is a bit pricey, the $19.89 you pay to watch it is worth it. I would recommend the film to any Swifties, as for the custom popcorn bucket and beverage cup, I’d say it’s a great souvenir but it’s a little hard to eat while you are singing and dancing. I enjoyed the film and if the opportunity comes along, I’d definitely rewatch it.