Hamilton Review!

 Alright! So yesterday the filmed production of Hamilton dropped on Disney+, and as an avid blogger with nothing else better to do now that school's out for the foreseeable future, I guess it's time to type up a summary of my thoughts on it.

Yeah.

Hamilton, created by genius Lin-Manuel Miranda, is about the $10 dollar Founding Father Alexander Hamilton, his joining of the Revolution, his marriage to Elizabeth Schuyler, and his ultimate death at the hands of long time adversary Aaron Burr.

So, since I've never seen any version of Hamilton on stage, this is the closest I, and several other million people will ever get to seeing it. And, it's not perfect.

For one thing, I thought the direction was a bit rote. For a long time, it would seem like they would just variate between three alternate camera positions (Centerstage, stage left, stage right, shot above, shot behind, close up). And a lot of the shots show people's feet, which is somewhat jarring, considering how real movies rarely show full body shots.

At least they look like they're having fun!

For me, it really homed in that I was just watching a filmed version of a play instead of a movie. But that's a choice, and it is the best choice for the film, considering how they can't have a cool set or production design behind them, instead relying on dance numbers. But upon rewatching, I found that that criticism was barely noticeable anymore.

But other than that... I only had, like, a couple of very scene-specific criticisms that were extremely picky. My first beyond nit-picky criticism was during The Reynolds Pamphlet. When Angelica does her little solo, I wished she would, like, push Hamilton or hit him. Instead, she stands completely still and tries to see how wide she opens her mouth (Which, yeah. Hitting those notes is hard). I would've liked more physicality in that scene.

And sometimes, during wide shots, you could see the room underneath the stage with hands coming out of it. It was always brightly illuminated yellow with black silhouettes moving around. I wanted that closed.

But other than those completely nit-picky complaints that are extremely specific to me and not actually faults with the film, I really liked it. My only real complaint is that it is super long. It's 2h 40 mins, but it does include a one-minute intermission, 10 minutes worth of credits, and the John Laurens Interlude, so that's where the extra 20 mins comes in. Yet somehow it leaves you wanting more.

Some things translated even better than they did during the soundtrack; Being able to see people's faces emote, seeing some of the show-stopping numbers, and the zaniness of it all in real life was fun.

And some of the characters translated even better than they did from the imaginary Hamilton film I got from listening to the soundtrack. For one, anything with Daveed Diggs (Lafayette/Jefferson) was an absolute drama kid mood, the sheer renegade quality of Okieriete Onaodowan's Hercules Mulligan, anything with Anthony Ramos (John Laurens/Phillip Hamilton) was nice, and Johnathan Groff's King George III was, as expected, hilarious.

Phillipa Soo's Elizabeth Hamilton was the heart of the play, Christopher Jackson's Washington was the embodiment of Washington, Lin-Manuel Miranda was an excellent passive-aggressive Alexander Hamilton, and Leslie Odom Jr.'s Tony Award-Winning portrayal of Aaron Burr was inspired.

Some other easy compliments I can throw at the film is the production design; the set looks cool, the lighting is on point, the performances are top-notch, the quality drop between the first and second act is non-existent, and the lyrics are ingenious. It's a practically perfect musical.

Overall, I give the film a 9/10. "Though not without faults, the filmed production of Hamilton not only feels like a dream, but is a surefire win for everyone watching."