Greatest Days

We really enjoyed this film, my husband included! The energy in the first half is outstanding, if you love popular music and dance, you'll enjoy it. But loving the music of Take That is definitely not an essential to enjoying this film, it's a real feel good movie. Like Mamma Mia - it incorporates the music of Take That and weaves it into the story. The pace dipped a bit in the middle, but the integration of then and now is done cleverly and the story messaging around friendship and not losing yourself is heartwarming. I'd happily watch this again. Great performances all round, particularly the young newcomers, I was wowed by their singing and dance abilities.

Although not particularly Take That fans - I recognise they've got some great tunes. I also recognised that this was a low budget film and not likely in any way to scale the heights of day Mama Mia.

But it didn't shine on any level and certainly didn't have any magic. I was praying got it to end.

I really wanted to like it - but It's formulaic, derivative, predictable, poorly scripted and cringeworthy in parts. The main characters supply us with the obligatory one lesbian, one with weight issues, two mixed race, a crossdresser with beard - then kids with cancer.

The songs are great, there are some excellent dance scenes, lots,of the camp was enjoyable. The best bit by far was seeing Gary, Mark and Jason busking in a tube train - looking down at heel, very amusing. Well done them.

However it didn't relight my fire,

I would never review a movie I've not watched all the way through but my gosh this is a car crash of epic proportions. The cliched dance routines, how cheap it looks, the simply horrendous decision to cast this rather odd looking collection of boys to represent Take That. During the first musical number, Pray, you'll probably burst out laughing when the boys appear out of kitchen cupboards in the midst of a shouting match between two parents. Could it be magic is more could it be tragic, set during a market with various stall holders singing the lines until the boys pop out from behind WH Smith's to join in. Yes the movie clearly wants to say something important our childhood friends and the lead actress has plenty of energy and screen presence but it's all been done better before. After 25 minutes I'd suffered enough.

I know most musicals are contrived and cheesy and provide broad stroke entertainment, and I enjoy a good jukebox musical where you are already familiar with the songs, but with the good ones you don't notice how cheesy they are because you're having such a good time. With Greatest Days I was always aware of it's contrivance as the thinly plotted and poorly scripted story is fabricated just enough to shoe horn in some favourite Take That songs from their back catalogue set to a backdrop of friendship, adolescence, tragedy and sexual awakening.

Based on the original stage musical The Band written by Tim Firth we follow a group of friends, going backwards and forwards in time from their teenage years in the early 90's to where they are now in their lives, who get together in Athens 25 years after their first concert to attend a reunion show. Aisling Bea is always watchable and does her best with the material and Marc Wootton provides some much needed comic relief but the casting of the 5 female friends never quite come together.

Feeling like a low budget Mamma Mia! (2008) it lacks exuberance, satisfactorily choreographed dance numbers and an overall feel good factor. The problem lay with the treatment of some of the songs. Many have been re-imagined and reworked, too much for my liking, as we get a hint of a song here, and a hint of a song there and it often falls short of giving us spectacularly executed dance routines to some of their most anthemic tunes. It does however finally pick up in the last 10 minutes or so, which is probably how the whole film should have been, but it's too little too late.

I don't mind a thinly plotted story if you can believe in it but I didn't really care enough about the characters or the plot line and the pseudo Take That members who keep springing up known as The Band (or The Boys as is often said in the movie) who exist in Aisling Bea's head are frankly a rather annoying plot device to get the songs crowbarred into the proceedings. You yearn for the real Take That to appear (and they do in a nice cameo as buskers on board a train) or to enjoy a song in it's entirety but sadly it takes about 90 minutes to really get going. The sentiment doesn't always land and neither does some of the wit or camaraderie between the friends that often feels a little forced rather than being naturally charming.

I thought at least half way in I'd be singing along, tapping my feet and having a great time but it just doesn't take off. Sadly it's a missed opportunity and it won't be the greatest day of your life watching this. Personally I enjoyed the earlier jukebox Take That musical Never Forget that was simpler in execution but much more engaging.

It had its moments and the highlight was probably I WANT YOU BACK it was the moment when the song and story came together .

There have been some amazing musicals

There have been some amazing jukebox movies

The highlight and the benchmark is undoubtedly MAMMA MIA anything else that doesn't come close in its story and adaptation is a let down

If you want a bio pic with music you cannot beat BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY and Rocket man failed in its attempt to merge the two together I wonder if there will be a film if 'we will rock you' ?

Geoff was a highlight he brought comedy to the script

Sadly this failed to take off on any level it's not a film you think I want to see that again and tell everyone to see if - it just failed to do what musicals do - it failed yo uplift - the ingredients were there they just weren't applied in the right quantities

Towards the final 10 minutes it upped a notch or or two but overall it just wasn't good enough

Disappointing

Pad. A 5/10.