A welcome blast of hope and heat.

I think it’s fair to say it’s been quite a couple of decades for Lin-Manuel Miranda. In the 22 years since premiering In the Heights in college at the age of just 19, Miranda’s rise has been positively meteoric.

From university theatre to Broadway to Hollywood, Lin-Manuel Miranda has swiftly become one of the most bankable names in the industry, with a distinctive musical brand that’s found fans around the world. It’s an ascent that’s brought him unprecedented success, but one that’s steadily coaxed him further and further away from his roots.

With the phenomenal global success of Hamilton leading to Disney soundtrack gigs and big bucks Netflix deals, it’d be all too easy for Miranda to buy into his own hype, yet it’s to the star’s immense credit that his next move is to return to the streets of Washington Heights where it all started.

Pining for better times and selling the finest café con leche in town, affable Usnavi (Anthony Ramos) runs a bodega in the bustling neighbourhood of Washington Heights, Manhattan. As he dreams of lottery wins and the golden sands of his native Dominican Republic, Usnavi vies for the attention of beautician Vanessa (Melissa Barrera), while his childhood friends Benny (Corey Hawkins) and Nina (Leslie Grace) nurture ambitions of their own. Times are tough, no doubt, but these streets are made with music, and as the volume and temperature steadily rises, nothing can stand in the way of youthful, sun-kissed optimism.

It almost seems silly to doubt the man at this point, but if there were any lingering doubts as to whether Lin-Manuel Miranda remained grounded after so many years on the ascent, In the Heights well and truly puts them to bed. With an unwavering sense of belonging and an indelible connection to its roots, the film is its creator through and through, and the perfect grounding for him in a career that keeps climbing higher.

Although tweaked in its transition to the big screen, In the Heights has lost none of the energy or the heart that made it such a stage success. With studio pressures and a bumpy production history, Lin-Manuel Miranda has been the gatekeeper for the story from the off, ensuring the film retains its spirit and emotional core to offer a true celebration of community and dreams.

With such a deep-seated sense of place and culture, In the Heights pops with an abiding love for both its physical location and the people that live within it. This is a story that’s huge in its scope and representation, standing loud and proud for the Latinx diaspora across the US and beyond, yet remains laser-focused on Washington Heights throughout.

It’s here in this largely Latin community, amidst the bodegas and piragua carts, that In the Heights resides, singing loud and singing proud for both its locale and its people. Shot through with Lin-Manuel Miranda’s patented delivery but with a distinct rhythm and energy all its own, In the Heights is a heady mix of musical styles that are reassuringly familiar yet utterly unique.

While it’s ultimately more accessible than Hamilton in its approach, In the Heights nonetheless possesses a similar array of genres and styles to keep things interesting. Taking in everything from hip-hop to samba to traditional showtunes, the film is a heady cocktail of musical vibes that will have you desperate to give the soundtrack a spin on the ride home.

Complementing this perfectly, the film absolutely looks the part. Huge but intimate and admirably warm-hearted, In the Heights is a massive slab of musical spectacle full of bold colours, heightened visuals, and sweeping New York panoramas, yet all experienced from the streets up and through the eyes of its flawed, achingly human characters.

With beautifully choreographed Busby Berkeley-esque song and dance sequences rubbing shoulders with more scaled down numbers, director Jon M. Chu brings it all to the table, drawing us in with bright colours, sunshine, and good times, and not letting go. With a filmography that boasts everything from the Step Up franchise to the visual chicanery of Now You See Me 2 to the splendour of Crazy Rich Asians, Chu draws from his unique filmmaking experience to ensure In the Heights’ transition from stage to screen is done with style to spare.

Taking the bold step to utilise a cast with little name-brand recognition, the film nonetheless possesses an ensemble uniquely qualified for the task at hand. While short on star names, the group are nevertheless the very heart and soul of the film and indispensable to its promise of an organic, wholly authentic musical experience.

Led by the infectious charms of Anthony Ramos and bolstered by the talents of Corey Hawkins, Jimmy Smits, and scene-stealing “Abuela” Olga Merediz, the cast are impeccable across the board. With every single member of the ensemble pulling their weight, they inject an organic energy and a natural zeal into proceedings that may have gone missing had bigger names been involved.

Clocking in at a weighty 143 minutes, In the Heights is certainly happy to sit back and bask in the festivities at times. It’s an easy-going approach that certainly stretches and fractures the plot, however, the energy and overall execution ensure the duration never weighs things down too heavily.

Filled with cliché and contrivance, it’d be all too easy to pick holes in the film’s narrative, yet that’d be missing the point entirely. More than anything, this is a film to be felt and to be embraced. Huge and utterly joyous in its outlook but with a sharp emotional edge, In the Heights is an all-encompassing experience with a stack of positives that easily override its shortcomings.

With heart and soul to spare, the film wraps us up in its location and its people so thoroughly that it’s impossible to resist its charms. As movie locations go, there are few more well-trodden than New York, yet In the Heights’ hyper-localised celebration of a very specific area and the people calling it home is utterly unique. But while it roots itself in the Washington Heights concrete, standing tall as an unabashed elegy to its Latinx community, the film never neglects its job of communicating the hopes, dreams, and sense of home that are all part in the wider immigrant experience.

Driven by dazzling spectacle and a stack of incredible tunes, In the Heights lights up the sky with an exuberant, sun-kissed celebration of heritage and community that’s both enormous and admirably grounded. Backed up by a beautifully balanced cast, Jon M. Chu captures the magic of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s original show perfectly, bringing it to the screen with the kind of joy, energy, and pure escapism that’ll have you singing from the rooftops.

In the Heights is out in cinemas worldwide.