Lin Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton took the world by storm, however, his ‘other’ musical, In the Heights, was performed prior to that musical’s release but finds itself receiving a cinematic/big screen makeover in the wake of the phenomenal success of Hamilton. Set in Washington Heights (a predominantly Dominican area), In the Heights tells the story of a community that dreams of more whilst being inextricably tied to their neighborhood. - there’s love, success, heartbreak, struggles, and a boatload of songs too. In the Heights also allows for greater representation for people of different cultures, however, that sadly isn’t enough to deliver a captivating story. The visual pizazz strains to cover up the thin and uninteresting narrative outside of the songs and dancing and the non-existent chemistry between the two main characters, Usnavi (Ramos) and Vanessa (Barrera) fails to set the screen alight (Usnavi as a character is fine, however, Vanessa isn’t the most...likable) - for me, the romance between Benny (Hawkins) and Nina (Grace) was far more interesting. For an energetic musical, the songs lack a memorable touch despite the choreography being excellent. In the Heights is a beautiful looking movie, Alice Brooks’ cinematography is great as is the overall costume design. Frustratingly, the movie is far too long, it really began to drag by the halfway point and the attempts at injecting drama and emotion into the second half weren’t enough to elevate the story and craft an engaging narrative. A more concise movie may have been a more enjoyable watch, as it is, In the Heights is all spark and no fire.