The Greatest Showman

As usual, the critics fail to grasp the obvious. Does the movie entertain? Yes, it does. Absolutely. Sure, it may not match the real story, and many things are not based in reality, but that's the point! It's a movie! It is a fun musical, very well done and enjoyable.If it was a made up story about John G. Pigglestack, then the critics would have nothing to complain about. I actually likes this much better than La La Land. Guess it's more upbeat. Musicals are a rare breed. Enjoy them while you can.

Sunday was my niece's birthday. 16. I invited her and two of her friends to do whatever they wanted. They chose to stay home, eat cake and watch The Greatest Showman on HBO and I thought Oh no. But, I had cake with them and sat to watch this Michael Gracy, who? Michael Gracy to see the story of PT Barnum with Hugh Jackman. Sentimental and pretty, yes but also, engrossing, moving, beautiful and structured in such a way that doesn't fall into the usual biopic traps. It moves at a breathless pace with smart and unexpected transitions. Hugh Jackman is great and Michelle Williams truthful to a fault. She's never less than that. What a wonderful actress. Zac Effron gives, what it may very well be, his most convincing performance and the Swedish actress Rebecca Ferguson was a revelation to me. The script by Jenny Bicks and the remarkable Bill Condon tells a classic tale with contemporary rhythms and contemporary pace. Needless to say, I enjoyed it much more that I could possibly had imagine. So, thank you Lilli, happy 16!

To start off this review I'd like to say that before I ever watched this movie I had the opinion that it was going to be rubbish, solely because of how blown up the movie was. Everywhere I went it was "The Greatest Showman". I thought that perhaps it would be a mediocre film at best, blown out of proportion by a craze.

Boy was I wrong. Even at the beginning of the movie you are thrown straight into the extravagance of what the movie was about to become. What is basically the story of a simple man becoming a legend in the show-business, is the most flamboyant and breath-taken musical movie I've seen. The soundtrack for this movie is beyond brilliant. Having been impressed by Hugh Jackman's vocals in Les Miserable I was not surprised he pulls it out of the bag in this movie yet again. But Zac Efron really stood out in this movie and that truly surprised me.

When you finish this movie you will have the great songs stuck in your head, and you will be fully satisfied having finished the movie, your next plan will likely be getting the soundtrack and reliving the magic all over again.

I love the circus. I love quality cinema. Not since Billy Rose's Jumbo (1962) has a motion picture so successfully combined these two elements. I wouldn't be surprised if it won the same awards as Cecil B. DeMille's The Greatest Show on Earth (1952). Michael Gracey skillfully brought together the best music, choreography, cast, cinematography, visual effects, costumes, and set decoration I have seen in recent years, all fresh and original, and integrated them into nothing short of a masterpiece.

It's hard to come up with something that hasn't already been said. Are critics are wrong? Yes. Does it have great music? Absolutely. Will you want to watch it again and again? Almost certainly. The entire cast does phenomenally well singing and dancing and for many, this achievement will be the first line in their biographies. It's a musical that is generally inspiring and evokes good feelings, but still takes you on an emotional journey. It's far from a documentary on P.T. Barnum, but that's not it's purpose. As someone obsessed with Hamilton to the point where I listened to the soundtrack everyday for 2 years before seeing it live on Broadway, I avoided watching this one because I just assumed it couldn't even come close. I was wrong. I'm not saying it's better than Hamilton or even as good because I don't think anything will ever be, but The Greatest Showman is definitely a modern classic that earns a place on the list of must-see musicals. Despite its 19th century setting, the songs are fresh, modern, up-beat numbers that can only be described as instant classics. Just try NOT singing along, I dare you. This is not an old school musical like West Side Story or The Sound of Music; it's very modern in the best sense of the word. The choreography and dancing are also first rate and the movie engages you and sweeps you along so well that by the end, you won't even believe it's been an hour and forty-five minutes. I could watch this weekly and never tire of it. Rather than the critics, trust the viewer reviews, the box office numbers, and the fact that it stayed popular in theaters for so long, they had to forcibly pull it before it's popularity waned because the DVD was about to drop and the streaming deals were about to kick in. If you've ever seen a single musical you liked, you're sure to love this one. If you've never enjoyed a musical before, the. this may be the one to bring you into the fold.