The first reviews for Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour concert film have arrived and naturally, it’s a smash hit.
On Wednesday, 2,200 hand-selected fans were invited to Los Angeles’ outdoor shopping mall The Grove to the world premiere of the concert film ahead of its release later this week.
The 2-hour 48-minute epic is an amalgamation of footage from Swift’s sold-out three-night tour at SoFi Stadium in California in August. Fans who missed out on the live performance can enjoy 44 of the songs she performed including fan-favourites Shake It Off and the 10-minute version of All Too Well.
It seems Swifties’ concern that the film could be censored due to its PG-13 rating for “strong language and suggestive materials” has been put at ease too. With many fans citing the aptness of the grade in hindsight, as 13 is famously Swift’s lucky number.
As expected, the film is another triumph for Taylor to add to her impressive roster with many five-star reviews, after the film achieved the second highest pre-sale ticket sales in US history, and took £80 million ($100 million) worldwide.
Deadline’s perfect review read: “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour is a complete celebration of her impressive 17-year career that puts Swift’s joy on full display and highlights that, perhaps for the first time, she is taking the stage for no one but herself.”
“The Eras Tour still gives everyone in the audience a chance to experience every song from the best seat in the house.”
They teased: “You’ll see every detail on every bejeweled outfit Swift wears throughout the show, as well as the tiny details on her instruments — like the sparkling 13 on the already bedazzled guitar she plays during the Fearless era.”
The Wrap helmed it as a “bombastic celebration of not only Swift’s musical catalogue, but friendship, joy and colour that benefits from being on the biggest screen possible.”
“Swift put on a show that dazzles, amazes, and enchants… Swift and Wrench have done something truly special with the Eras film and that is making a colourful celebration of music and, unintentionally, cinema.”
As The Telegraph’s 5-star review labelled Taylor “a one-woman Barbenheimer – a glittery, sparkly blonde and an atomic force obliterating everything in its path, all rolled into one.”
While concert films might not be to every audience’s taste, “the sheer spectacle and energy of the her film is enough to convert even the most rabid anti-Swiftie.”
The Times also gave the film a five-star review, calling it a “thriller” that “more than justifies the hype and rather than a rushed cash-in”.
Meanwhile, NME awarded the movie four stars, writing: “It’s a staggering feat. In the space of one seamless performance, Swift is at turns a playfully eccentric artist, a country star and a genuine pop icon.”
Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour arrives in cinemas on October 13.