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Taylor Swift has always been a storyteller. That’s been her greatest strength as a female musician who launched herself into stardom nearly seventeen years ago with her self-titled album. From the stories she has told through her lyrics to her future story she will direct in her first feature film, fans have gravitated towards her own fascination with the stories she tells.

Taylor Swift had already broken records with her sold out US leg of her Eras Tour, and now she’s continuing that success on the silver screen. The box office success of Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour speaks to the power that she’s worked for and earned throughout her career, breezing past the studios to deal directly with the theaters herself. However, the real success of the theatrical release of her concert is the story at the heart of it: Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour is a love story between her and her fans.

In case you were unaware, Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour is the artist’s eighth concert film to date, featuring most of the performances from her latest monumental tour. Directed by Sam Wrench, the footage from The Eras Tour is taken from two of her Los Angeles shows at the SoFi Stadium. As someone who did get to witness the historic Eras Tour in-person, I felt as though the film captured the same magic that was felt inside the SoFi stadium. I’d go so far as to say it enhanced my previous experience because I was able to take in more of the concert knowing what was ahead. 

Having her concert filmed is a way to honor the craft beyond the performance and the people who brought this together. There is so much detail on display that gets lost during a concert. While watching Taylor perform in-person, it’s easy to miss the production design of the stage, the lighting design, even subtle changes of Taylor’s microphones to match the era she’s in. These small features get the highlight they deserve thanks in no small part to the camera operators who kept up with Miss Americana for nearly three hours; truly, they deserve their own recognition. 

Continuing with the cinematography, there is a variety of shots that keep the nearly three-hour concert film interesting to watch. The drone shots are able to show off how dynamic the stage is to the overall performance of a song. Whether it’s the circular shots from “Don’t Blame Me” transitioning into “Look What You Made Me Do” or the crossfades during her epic “All Too Well (10-Min Version),” there’s a distinct style on display. However more than that, the camera knows its strongest asset is Taylor herself. As a seasoned performer, she knows how to play with the camera without losing her connection to the live audience there. A few times throughout the concert, the cameras visually get to capture the immense size of the sold-out audience of SoFi juxtaposed with Taylor alone, taking in the moment surrounded by her fans. It’s genuinely stunning how shots like that communicate the magnitude of the cultural moment Taylor, and we as the audience, are in. 

Taylor Swift takes the time at the end of “Karma” to put a spotlight on her dancers, backup vocalists, and her band as she closes out the show, and rightfully so. Each of these performers brought their A-game, matching Taylor’s stamina, and endurance to perform at this level. Part of what makes The Eras Tour special is seeing how much fun Taylor is having with the people onstage. Every dancer has moments to show off their personality; every backup singer gets the chance to walk out on that massive stage and sing alongside Taylor. Every guitar player has playful interactions with the “You Belong with Me” singer. Thanks to The Eras Tour, audiences are now exposed to the talent Taylor has surrounded herself with throughout this record-breaking tour.

Taylor strategically designed her Eras concert to have its own rhythm and pace that is equally matched in the editing of The Eras Tour. The camera cutting and sound mixing across the choreography, set design, and lighting harmonize in order to capture the full scope of storytelling in each performance of every era. Starting off the Lover and Fearless era brought up the energy and the nostalgia; the evermore and folklore eras offered a reprieve from the dancing for a spell until reputation and 1989 pumped the audience back up like a sugar rush. Though we had to say goodbye to five songs from the full set list, it did keep The Eras Tour moving forward while giving every era its moment to shine.

The only nitpick to be found on the technical front were a couple shots of off-angle close-up of Taylor Swift’s face during “betty” that didn’t seem to fit the performance; there’s an intimate quality to the song itself but the visuals here don’t seem to fit into place the same way. The only reason this is really noticed is due to the folklore portion of the concert where you begin to feel the Eras runtime. Beyond that and an instance of “blink-and-you’ll-miss-it” shaky camera, there’s nary a shot doesn’t showcase each era to its fullest extent. 

When it comes down to it, The Eras Tour is Taylor Swift’s Avengers: Infinity War & Endgame. At the height of the MCU’s popularity, Infinity War and Endgame marked a decade of the MCU and signified a cinematic cultural moment in time. With each movie and phase, the Infinity Saga had built up the anticipation and stakes toward a Thanos-level finale the likes of which general audiences hadn’t seen. Plus, there was a communal element to it where you had to be there opening weekend to get the full experience of the Infinity Saga’s finale (or risk potentially getting spoiled!)

All of this to say The Eras Tour is the culmination of 10 albums and 17 years of Taylor Swift. With each album and era, Taylor continues to keep her connection with her fans while experimenting with different styles. Like opening night for an Avengers movie and, more recently, Barbenheimer, fans are flocking to the theaters dressed up, ready to trade friendship bracelets and experience their artist celebrate her entire discography in a show like no other. Her presence in the theaters right now towers over every other film, even prompting studios to move around release dates in order not to be buried under the Swiftie box office. Her brand promotes itself the way movie stars used to bring audiences to the theater from name recognition.

From a film perspective, it would be easy, even elitist, to scoff at Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour for even giving this concert movie a film review. True, The Eras Tour isn’t a future Oscar contender. However, as mentioned at the beginning of this review, Taylor Swift is a storyteller that deserves to be taken seriously. The Eras Tour is a decades-long story packaged in an under three-hour runtime. The concert movie captures the same emotional satisfaction found from Avengers: Endgame, but this isn’t her endgame conclusion. It may mark the end of Eras era, but it’s the start of an age. If I’ve learned anything about Taylor Swift since her debut in 2006, she will always have the last laugh because she’s doing it her way and she’s still here.

Grade: A-

Oscars Prospects:
Likely: None
Should be Considered: None

Where to Watch: In Theaters