Miranda—likely recognizing he had aged out of playing the lead, Usnavi, but also realizing that attaching his name would give the film another level of cachet—takes on the small role of the Piragüero, a street snow-cone vendor. He doesn’t throw away his shot, making the most of his screen time.

During the lengthy opening number, “In The Heights,” Usnavi, who runs a small bodega that serves as a hub of the community, introduces us to most of the key players and tells us a bit about their story. A few big moments drive the story forward, such as several characters looking to move out of the Heights, a winning lottery ticket worth $96,000 sold at the bodega, and a blackout that shrouds the neighborhood in darkness—and heat—for a couple of days. While I was never bored—and really enjoyed many of the musical and dance numbers—at 2 hours and 22 minutes, there are slow parts and by the end it does start to feel a bit long. 

Shot at 7K, the home transfer is taken from a 4K digital intermediate, and the movie is really beautiful. Many of the scenes are shot on location in Brooklyn Heights, and the natural lighting gives the film a great look. Skin tones look natural, with loads of color and shadow detail, and a huge depth of focus.

Overall the film just looks clean, focused, and sharp throughout. The huge array of street dancers shown at the end of the opening number as well as in the community swimming pool after “96,000” are shown with great depth and clarity. Long shots showing buildings reveal tight, sharp lines of brick-and-mortar. Closeups also reveal all kinds of detail, such as in the opening number—as the camera moves through Usnavi’s store, we can clearly see every can, box, and label on the shelves. There are not a lot of effects shots, save for one big dance number (“When The Sun Goes Down”) on the side of a building. But two shots at the public swimming pool where Usnavi looks obviously green-screened in were mildly distracting. 

HDR is used to pump up the brightness of neon signs/lights in store windows, and to give the night scenes more punch. In fact, the scene/song “Blackout” would be a great demo scene, with bright flashlights, candles, sparklers, and fireworks punctuating the night. 

Even though it’s mixed and presented in Dolby Atmos, the soundtrack—at least as presented by HBO Max—doesn’t feature a lot of height information, and virtually nothing in the rear/surround back speakers, with just some music going to the side and front heights. The mix does give us some nice width and directionality across the front, letting characters and sounds move far off screen left/right as appropriate. There’s also plenty of detail to let us hear individual voices in the layered singing, letting you pick out a given singer in the sonic space. We also get some nice ambient sounds that gently fill and expand the room.

Sonically, the musical numbers are the big star here, and the instruments and vocals are given a lot of room across the front channels, with some space added in the front height and surround speakers. Many of the songs are upbeat and you can’t help but tap your toes.  

If you liked Hamilton then I daresay you’ll enjoy In the Heights too since its DNA runs thick throughout. Asking it to convert everyone into a musical lover is a big ask, but there’s no disputing that it has loads of heart and looks terrific, and is certainly worth a night in your theater.