Movie Review: Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour
By ALLEGRA LAI ’25
Promotional poster for Swift’s Eras Tour; Courtesy of UD Review
“Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour” is a smash hit that shows the power of Taylor Swift, five-foot-ten in a sparkly bodysuit, commanding crowds of over 70,000 in SoFi Stadium in the past August’s salt air. It spans over 17 years of music and encompasses ten different eras, a tribute to Swift’s groundbreaking shifts from country to pop to alternative during her career. Along with fellow female-led powerhouses — Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” and Beyonce’s “Renaissance” tour, The Eras Tour has undoubtedly given the US economy a boost of girl power. Fans all over have passionately re-donned themselves in their concert outfits to watch the movie in cinemas, or in some cases, dressed up for the first time if they hadn’t managed to grab tickets for ‘The Great Ticketmaster War’ last November. This is not your conventional Friday night movie experience — fans in cinemas are trading friendship bracelets, fighting for the AMC Eras-themed merchandise, and singing the lyrics with such catharsis that it may rival the screams from the Halloween movies next door.
The movie starts as Swift appears in a sparkly bodysuit and opens the show with “Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince,” kicking things off with the Lover era. Perhaps it is a nod to what Loverfest could’ve been before the pandemic forced Swift to call off her tour in 2019. She then transitions to the Fearless era, a throwback to her iconic 2008 hits, followed by the whimsical and witchy Evermore set. One of the highlights of the film is her performance of “Champagne Problems,” a piano ballad with a heart-wrenching bridge that is followed by a long ovation from her fans.
Swift then jumped to the Reputation era with a series of hits from her comeback in 2016, including the infamous “Look What You Made Me Do.” The film continues to the Speak Now era and the Red era, which includes a stunning moment of fans captivated by Swift and her guitar as she cathartically belts “All Too Well (10 Minute Version)” from her rerecording of her album Red.
The Folklore set brings forth another tour movie highlight — “August” into “Illicit Affairs.” As soon as the first notes of “Illicit Affairs” are heard, theater etiquette might as well have been forgotten as Swift stuns with her vocals. The energy is not lost in the 1989 era, where Swift belts her biggest hits from her 2014 trailblazer.
The movie reaches perhaps the most anticipated part of its two hours and 45 minutes — the acoustic set of two surprise songs. It is a pleasant surprise that Swift has chosen “Our Song” as her guitar song, a nod to her debut, and “You’re On Your Own, Kid” as her piano song, which many consider a career highlight song. A stunted dive into the stage transitions the film into the last era, Midnights, and the show ends flamboyantly with tinsel jackets, karma, and fireworks.
Swift struck a deal directly with AMC Cinemas, and their partnership was a snub to studios that did not offer deals that aligned with Swift. The alternative rollout has proved successful, as it quickly became the highest-grossing concert film of all time. Swift boldly made a few cuts to the tour setlist in her concert film. Among those, Long Live is one that stings the most. A song dedicated to her fans, to see her standing with her long-time band in her purple ball gown, koi-fish guitar slung over her shoulder on the big screen surely would not be a ‘bathroom break song.’
This isn’t Swift’s first time releasing a concert film: most of her previous tours have had a succeeding documentary or concert movie. The 2011 camera quality of “Speak Now World Tour Live” and the awkward angle cuts and questionable editing of “The 1989 World Tour Live” pale in comparison to this. In her 2020 documentary “Miss Americana,” Swift candidly mentions that she felt as though “Lover” was one of her last chances at on-top-of-the-world success. Well, it seems that newly crowned billionaire Swift has nothing to worry about.
“Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour” provides fans with a bejeweled time of dancing, screaming and reliving her groundbreaking tour from their recliner seats at the cinema. The streaked mascara, dehydrated, and hoarse voice aftermath of the concert film proves that it is not simply a movie— it is an experience. With her concert film, Swift leaves an indelible glittery mark on silly little teenage girl hearts all across the world.
