In the opening moments of Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour, Taylor Swift, talking to the sold-out crowd at Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium, says that the crowd makes her feel powerful. By just pointing her finger, Swift makes segments of the audience go absolutely wild, screaming with excitement, until the entire crowd bursts into noise, pumped at just being in the same stadium as Swift. From the first full song, “Cruel Summer,” it’s easy to feel the exhilaration of the tens of thousands of fans in attendance, as Swift reveals she’s going to go through her 17-year career and 10 albums, split up into the different eras of her work so far. Since The Eras Tour began in March of this year, it has been heralded with rave reviews, sold-out dates, and a tremendous encapsulation of Swift’s career. For such a major accomplishment—which will likely go down as one of the highest-grossing tours in history—Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour is a perfect way to ensure this incredible performance is cemented into history, and an excellent way to revisit this tour or get to see it without spending hundreds of dollars.
Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour is a straightforward concert film, simply documenting what the experience of seeing this tour would be like. If you want a deeper look into Swift’s career, there’s already Miss Americana, or if you want a look at her creative process, you have Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions. But this is all that The Eras Tour really needs: to bring this massive concert to people around the world—nothing more, nothing less. But what this concert is is nothing short of astounding, a nearly 3-hour exploration of every period of Swift that somehow feels like it flies by, but also reminds that her career is so exceptional that 3 hours simply isn’t enough to summarize it all.
'The Eras Tour' Is an Incredible Feat
The idea of The Eras Tour almost shouldn’t work: all ten of Swift’s albums have their own tone, style, and viewpoints, and connecting them all into one show seems almost impossible. Yet even though some of these songs were written two decades ago, all of these songs fit into the larger aesthetic and thematic story that Swift and The Eras Tour is telling. It never feels odd when Swift seamlessly transitions from a Fearless track into the more restrained songs from evermore, or going from the overt poppiness of Red right into the quieter folklore tunes. The whole setlist flows beautifully from one segment of Swift’s career to the next. This doesn’t sound like disparate songs from the almost two decades of Swift’s history, these all sound like individual chapters in the story that makes Swift who she is.
Even more shocking is how Swift makes every “era” feel like a separate concert, each with its own vibes and unique sound. For fans of the uninitiated, The Eras Tour becomes a testament to the many multitudes Swift contains, and how different each of these albums truly is from the last. On a presentation point alone, The Eras Tour is gargantuan and spectacular. This is a concert in which an entire cabin might appear on stage out of nowhere, backup dancers ride bikes around that leave neon markings behind, and a moment where Swift seems to dive and swim into the stage. Not only does each era have its own style, but each song brings something new to the table, whether it’s a projection of leaves falling down or an intricate dance. At times, The Eras Tour almost reminds of Stop Making Sense, in terms of how each song is able to stand on its own through some brilliant choice.
DirectorSam Wrench, who has directed concert films like Billie Eilish: Live at the O2andBTS: Permission to Dance on Stage - LA, brings the audience closer than they could be to Swift—even if they saw her live—and knows exactly how to present these songs. For example, with the Reputation track “Look What You Made Me Do,” Wrench directs the performance with all the gravitas and weight that it inherently has. Whereas with a song like “All Too Well (10 Minute Version),” he knows that all he needs to do is focus on Swift, her guitar, and her staggering performance, and for all ten minutes, it’s hard not to be rapt in every line Swift is singing. Considering just how much that is always happening on the stage, from constant set shifting to costume changes and grand technical choices, it’s remarkable that Wrench is able to showcase everything that makes this concert so special through his camera.
Is 'The Eras Tour' Worth It For Non-Swifties?
But let’s be honest: before you started reading this review, you probably knew if Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour was for you or not. Does the idea of watching Swift go through her hits on stage for three hours sound interesting to you? Yes? Then you’re probably already one of the $100 million in pre-sold tickets that have already been made. But is there anything in The Eras Tour for non-Swifties? To be fair, quite a bit. It’s hard to not be impressed by the sheer scale and scope of what Swift has created here, and it’s shocking that The Eras Tour is able to accomplish everything it’s setting out to do without fail. But even for non-fans, it’s hard to equally not be impressed by how many directions Swift’s career has already gone down, and there’s almost certainly a song for everyone here. It’s rare for an artist at this level to be able to shift and explore different genres and styles with equal success in the way Swift has. In the end, Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour isn’t just a demonstration of this mammoth undertaking, it’s also an undeniable proclamation that Swift is one of the most impressive musicians of the 21st century.
Because of that, Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour feels like the type of live performance that is important to have documented in this way, like having an original cast performance of Hamilton, or Martin Scorsese recording the final performance of The Band in The Last Waltz. Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour is an accomplishment to be remembered and a showcase of one of the biggest pop stars of all time at the height of her talents. For years, we’ve known all too well that Swift is a powerhouse of a performer, musician, and artist, and Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour encapsulates all of that into this tremendous concert film.
Rating: A-
The Big Picture
- Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour is a breathtaking concert film that seamlessly weaves together Swift's 17-year career and 10 albums into a cohesive and awe-inspiring performance.
- The concert captures the distinct vibes and unique sounds of each era, showcasing the incredible range and evolution of Swift as an artist.
- Even for non-Swifties, The Eras Tour is worth watching to appreciate the sheer scale, talent, and genre exploration that Swift has accomplished throughout her career. It's a testament to her status as one of the most impressive musicians of the 21st century.
Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour is now in theaters.
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