Taylor Swift’s new concert movie, “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour,” officially arrived in theaters on Thursday.
Fans can now enjoy Swift’s elaborate show on the big screen, which is especially exciting for Swifties who lost the great war with Ticketmaster.
But for those of us who were lucky to see the show in person, we can’t help but compare the experiences.
I was delighted to find that some of Swift’s live renditions were even better on the big screen; the movie gave me renewed appreciation for certain songs in the setlist. However, other performances fell flat in the theater without the energy of a real-life concert.
Keep scrolling to see my 10 main takeaways.
“The Man” features a scaffolded set design that’s designed to mirror the music video. Swift stomps around a series of office desks while her suited-up dancers flock around her like a god. She sings with gusto, flitting between self-satisfied smiles and sarcastic winks.
But it’s almost impossible to catch those details during the live show, no matter where you’re seated in the stadium. There’s a lot going on!
The movie does an excellent job of mixing wide angles with close-up shots of Swift’s muscle-flexing moves, so fans can appreciate the full effect.
“The Eras Tour” skips the opening song in the “Evermore” set (either “‘Tis the Damn Season” or “No Body, No Crime,” depending on the show). So the movie transitions directly from “Love Story” to “Willow.”
As it turns out, this transition makes a lot more sense, as it enhances the connection between the two songs. In the former, Swift sings about meeting Romeo secretly “on the outskirts of town.” During the tour, she opens “Willow” with the lyric, “Wait for the signal and I’ll meet you after dark.”
The live performance of “Willow” is also whimsical and extravagant, casting Swift as a witch in a coven. Her dancers wield glowing orbs; the stage sparkles beneath their feet. It’s a visual feast that comes across much stronger in HD.
I have long said that “Tolerate It” is one of Swift’s most lyrically powerful songs, but I remember thinking it was a strange choice for the setlist, which includes another piano ballad in the “Evermore” set (“Champagne Problems”) and a similar heartbreak anthem in the “Folklore” set (“My Tears Ricochet”).
But watching Swift perform “Tolerate It” in the theater, the close-up shots catching every flicker of fury and agony on her face, I knew I was wrong to doubt her.
The movie allows “Tolerate It” to shine as an isolated narrative, with Swift sinking completely into the role of a neglected, desperate wife. Every time the camera lingered on Swift’s male counterpart, sipping his wine and shaking his head, my skin prickled. I was hypnotized. It really did feel like watching two actors in a Broadway scene.
I previously wrote that “The Last Great American Dynasty” was an unnecessary addition to the Eras Tour setlist. After seeing the movie, I humbly rescind that statement.
Much like “Tolerate It,” the performance is designed like a mini-play. Swift is the narrator, while her dancer plays the role of Rebekah Harkness. The close-up shots allowed me to enjoy the theatricality of it all — the swirl of Rebekah’s dress, the twinkle in Swift’s eye, the subtle nod they exchange when she sings the climactic line, “And then it was bought by me.”
I find “Mastermind” to be generally underwhelming, so when I saw it live during the Eras Tour, I had a similar reaction.
It has a slower tempo than much of the “Midnights” segment, and as the penultimate song in the three-hour setlist, it didn’t give me the jolt of energy that I needed. I was starting to feel exhausted.
But in the movie theater, “Mastermind” finally clicked for me. It makes so much sense for Swift to sing about her own meticulous brain at the end of a meticulously crafted show. Plus, without the symptoms of the real-life concert experience — the sore feet, the looming threat of traffic — I was more invested in the details.
When Swift sings “Mastermind,” the stage lights up like a chess board. The dancers move according to her gestures. I didn’t catch most of this in person, but on the big screen, it’s mesmerizing.
At the end, when Swift sings “You knew that I’m a mastermind / And now you’re mine,” she points at the crowd — and she’s absolutely right.
It was exciting when the theater’s lights dimmed and the countdown clock appeared on-screen, but it was nothing compared to the feeling of seeing the show start in real life.
Swift kicks off the Eras Tour with a short rendition of “Miss Americana & The Heartbreak Prince,” which leads into “Cruel Summer,” one of her most beloved hits — and the movie can’t possibly capture the magic of 70,000 people screaming, “He looks up grinning like a devil.”
To my surprise, when I saw the Eras Tour in person, I cried all the way through the “Fearless” set. There was something so indescribable and intense about hearing Swift sing those songs in front of me — songs that I used to sing in my bedroom when I was 13 years old.
“You Belong With Me” was particularly emotional, in part because it was my favorite song when the album came out, but also because everyone in the stadium sang along with such sincere enthusiasm. It felt like being a teenager again.
For obvious reasons, it just didn’t feel the same in a movie theater. “Fearless” is probably the most straightforward segment of the tour — no props or complex visuals, just good old-fashioned vocals — which translates better to a live show.
“Delicate” is one of the songs in the Eras Tour setlist that welcomes crowd participation. In between the first chorus and the first verse, Swift’s fans always chant, “One, two, three, let’s go bitch!” It’s kind of a weird inside joke, but a cute one nonetheless.
The lyrics also make the song feel like a group activity. In the chorus, Swift sings, “I know that it’s delicate / Isn’t it? Isn’t it?” During the live show, it feels like Swift is posing the question to her fans, asking us to empathize and understand her fears.
The movie does a nice job of capturing the “Delicate” choreography from a birds-eye view, showing how the stage appears to crack beneath Swift’s feet. But it does a poor job of capturing the collective joy of the performance.
“Enchanted” is the only track from “Speak Now” that’s performed in “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” (and it’s not even the full version!), so it does end up feeling a bit anticlimactic.
Much like “Cruel Summer,” this fan-favorite song just hits different in real life, with tens of thousands of people chanting, “Please don’t be in love with someone else / Please don’t have somebody waiting on you.”
“Blank Space” is one of Swift’s biggest hits, having spent seven weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Pretty much anyone at Swift’s concert will know the words, even the dads and the husbands, which makes it easy to get swept up in a sea of voices.
This is one of those songs that takes over your body, so you’re not paying much attention to anything else. It doesn’t matter what’s happening onstage when you’re dancing and screaming that it’s gonna go down in flames.
By contrast, the movie calls attention to the visuals, props, and choreography — which, for “Blank Space,” doesn’t work in its favor.
I didn’t notice when I was at the show, but Swift’s performance of “Blank Space” is surprisingly lackluster. The narrator is supposed to be sarcastic, passionate, and unhinged — a satirical version of Swift who lures suitors like a mythological siren just to wreck their cars with a golf club.
But instead, the live performance is painfully tame, full of overly literal dance moves. On the big screen, it translates as boring.
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