Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour (2023) | Film Review

This weekend I was “invited” to attend an IMAX showing of Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour by my wife and daughters. While I was a casual fan of her music, I had no real desire to attend the movie beyond making my girls happy because they wanted to share the experience with their dad. In this review, I am going to share my thoughts on that experience. It is impossible to review this film without reviewing the Eras Tour as a whole, because that’s all this film is. It isn’t a documentary or behind the scenes expo of the tour. It is simply a recording of the last American performance of that tour at SoFi Stadium in Englewood, California. I’m going to try to keep the tour review to a minimum and focus as much as I can on the film experience of that tour. Promise.

I’m going to get the most controversial part of this review out of the way right out of the gate: Taylor Swift is currently the greatest living performer across multiple generations. Now, before you all start rage-tweeting at me all the reasons you think I’m wrong, please allow me to explain. Note that I didn’t say “greatest artist” or “greatest lyricist” (although an argument could be made). I said greatest PERFORMER. The Eras Tour is a visual spectacle that not only deserves the big screen treatment of a theatrical release, but it also demands it.

Her use of lighting, interactive video panels built into the stage, big screen LCD background visuals, and physical set pieces that include multiple mobile platforms (all with their own electric display) is stunning. There literally is no other word. I have been to other concerts put on by other performers, but I was simply stunned by the amount of planning and work that had to go into creating the visuals that accompany this concert. On an IMAX screen, those visuals are simply beyond belief. That said, those visuals cannot compete with the actual star of this “movie”, which is Taylor herself.

It takes all of about 30 seconds of watching Taylor on stage to realize that this amazing woman is doing exactly what she was put on earth to do, and she is loving every single second of it. When she comes out on stage for the first time, she is absolutely gorgeous (in that way that only Taylor Swift is). Three hours later she was a hot sweaty mess. Hairdo a distant memory, sheen of sweat covering her face and arms, and yet at that point she was more beautiful than she was at the beginning of the show. Because it was REAL. You could see it in her exhausted face. There was nowhere on earth she would rather be at that moment. Her love for her music and the overarching love and gratitude she feels for her fans came through in every note she sang.

You can be as cynical as you like, but I believe that a large portion of the drive to create this film stems not from a desire by Taylor to make money (although I’m sure that didn’t hurt), but a sincere, overpowering need to allow every fan who either couldn’t find or afford tickets to the Eras Tour, as well as all the members of her Fanclub who got completely screwed by Ticketmaster, an opportunity to share in that experience.

From a technical perspective, this film is flawless. The last performance at SoFi was obviously choreographed with this film in mind. Fixed cameras, mobile cameramen, and drones were used to capture the performance and crowd (more on them in a minute) from every possible angle. I’m pretty sure they even used SoFi’s hanging mobile zoom cam for some of it. All of which were designed to give each of the stars of this film their time in the sun, and there are several “actors” who deserve credit for making this film the masterpiece that it is.

First is Taylor and her troupe of dancers and band members (all of whom are amazing in their own right). Already covered that. Second is the stage and venue. Covered that too. The third is the crowd on the screen. I have never seen a video of a group of people more fully engaged and just grooving to what they were experiencing than watching 70,240 of Taylor’s fans express their love for her. Watching them on the IMAX screen, it was impossible not to get caught up in their excitement.

All of my immediate family minus me (yes, the same ones who “dragged” me to this film) were able to attend the actual Eras Tour concert in Chicago. I did not attend beyond playing chauffeur, and, based on what I saw on the big screen Saturday night, I will regret missing out on that experience for the rest of my life. However, due to the technical excellence of this film, I feel like I experienced at least part of that excitement. This is possibly the most cliché phrase ever used in the world of documentaries or concert films, but yes, I actually felt like I was there. The film and sound quality are THAT good. Which leads me to the final star of this film: the audience that was watching it with me at the theater.

I’m generally not a fan of packed-in, reactive movie crowds. It’s just not my thing. If I’m attending opening night of the latest Marvelpalooza, then yeah, I expect a certain amount of ooo-rah from the fans. I might even occasionally contribute to it. By and large, however, I like my movie experience to be low-key and as quiet as possible. That is exactly the opposite of the crowd that attended my showing of this film on Saturday night. While the theater wasn’t packed, the crowd definitely was NOT low-key. Before the show even started people were trading bracelets (if you’re not a Taylor fan, google it to prepare yourself properly before attending). People were singing. Loudly. People were dancing in the isles. The ones not dancing in the isles were dancing in their seats. Little girls were crying. Grown-ass women were crying. I might have been crying at one point, and I KNOW I saw tears from one of the few other dads in the audience. (Yep, saw you, fellow dude. You didn’t wipe it away fast enough). That kind of organic reaction to this film can’t be adequately described. You need to be there and experience it for yourself to understand just how much Taylor means to her fans and how much she inspires them to greatness. And, watching the heart and soul she pours into a three-hour performance, it is obvious that Taylor feels exactly the same way about them.

The night of the show, I was given an out by my daughters. They recognized that dad might not actually be onboard spending 3 hours on a Saturday night at a theater watching THEIR favorite performer. When I said thank you, but I would go anyway (because, you know, dad), I was given permission to leave early if I wasn’t enjoying myself, which I absolutely planned on taking advantage of. It was a Saturday night! I just assumed I would have way better ways to spend my time. I have never been more wrong about a movie experience in my entire life. When my planned bail-out point of the show arrived, I never even considered leaving. I was completely drawn into the absolute magnificence of what I was seeing.

Yes, it is that good. SHE is that good. So, shake off any doubts you may have, grab 13 of your friends, head to the theater and party like it’s 1989.