The Greatest Showman - Review (Non-Spoiler)
Directed By: Michael Gracey
Rating: PG
Rating: PG
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Zac Efron, Zendaya, Michelle Williams, Rebecca Ferguson
Expectations/Background: I will completely honest in a couple areas - I was very late to this film, and I had listened to the entire soundtrack before having seen the film itself. Hugh Jackman is by far and away my favorite actor working today, and I will see almost everything that he is in. And I had seen a couple trailers for this movie, and thought it looked pretty decent. However, someone had recommended I listen to the soundtrack - on Christmas day, I listened through the entire soundtrack and have never gone back since. I can say with certainty - this is one of the best musical soundtracks the tI had ever heard. I listened to it nonstop, and as a result, I was so looking forward to seeing this film. However, being late to the film, I saw that the rotten tomatoes score and the critical response to this film was not the best. It had me worried - I knew the music was amazing already, but I wondered how the film would be. I hoped that I would like the film, and a friend had told me that I would, but I wasn't sure what to make going into the movie.
The Movie: Short disclaimer - before writing my own review, I went online to Rotten Tomatoes and some other credible newspapers and read their reviews of this film. The reason I did this was because I can say now with complete confidence; this film does not deserve a 53 percent on RT and all the critical "hate" it gets. This film is "good".
Positives: Why did I put good in quotations marks? Because to many different people, good can mean different things. I think Star Wars: The Force Awakens is good. I also think The Greatest Showman is good. But in two completely different ways.
When reading other reviews for this film, the main complaint that critics are giving is that this film isn't deep, the story is shallow, and pacing is uneven. I only agree with one of those things.
This is not a film that will blow your mind - this is not The Dark Knight or Moonlight. But I think that the emotion that the film conveys in the music and the characters, as well in the thematics makes for a very sufficient "feel-good" movie.
Again, perhaps it helps that I listened to the music before the movie, but I think that the film can be enjoyed listening to the music for the first time.
As for the actors, I think that almost every single one gave a great performance given their material and given the music. Hugh Jackman gives it his all. You can tell that during the entire runtime of the film, Hugh Jackman is having a blast and doing the film that he signed up to do in the first place. This is HIS film, and he completely owns it. Michelle Williams playing his wife also does a great job, as do Zac Efron and Zendaya in their limited screen roles. But this film is Hugh Jackman's.
And again, going back to the central point - I do believe that when you exit the movie, you will feel good. This is the definition of a "feel-good" movie. If you're looking to sob your heart out, or feel emotionally shaken, this is not the film for you - but that's not what this film intends to do.
Negatives: However, from the sound of my review, it may sound like I'm gushing about this movie. But there are a few things that I did not like, or particularly enjoy.
I will say right off the bat though, and some may disagree with me which is fine because film is subjective; there wasn't anything in the film BLATANTLY cringe-worthy or offensive to me.
I do agree with many people in saying that the story is the weak part of the film. I do think that music is amazingly strong, but the in-between parts of the film feel rushed. This film is RELATIVELY short clocking in at an hour and forty five, but I strongly believe that this film could have added twenty extra minutes.
Hugh Jackman's performance was brilliant, but his character, PT Barnum, felt extremely rushed at times. He went from a nice guy, to a selfish guy, to a nice guy, and back and forth again. And this could have worked very well, but what didn't work about it was the fact that it felt extremely rushed. There wasn't enough development given to his character, which was sad because there is a ton of potential there.
And again, the transitions between the musical numbers were not the smoothest.There were also some pieces of dialogue that were rather bland, and sometimes the child-actor's delvery wasn't the greatest, but other than that, there isn't anything glaringly negative to me.
Positives: Why did I put good in quotations marks? Because to many different people, good can mean different things. I think Star Wars: The Force Awakens is good. I also think The Greatest Showman is good. But in two completely different ways.
When reading other reviews for this film, the main complaint that critics are giving is that this film isn't deep, the story is shallow, and pacing is uneven. I only agree with one of those things.
This is not a film that will blow your mind - this is not The Dark Knight or Moonlight. But I think that the emotion that the film conveys in the music and the characters, as well in the thematics makes for a very sufficient "feel-good" movie.
Again, perhaps it helps that I listened to the music before the movie, but I think that the film can be enjoyed listening to the music for the first time.
As for the actors, I think that almost every single one gave a great performance given their material and given the music. Hugh Jackman gives it his all. You can tell that during the entire runtime of the film, Hugh Jackman is having a blast and doing the film that he signed up to do in the first place. This is HIS film, and he completely owns it. Michelle Williams playing his wife also does a great job, as do Zac Efron and Zendaya in their limited screen roles. But this film is Hugh Jackman's.
And again, going back to the central point - I do believe that when you exit the movie, you will feel good. This is the definition of a "feel-good" movie. If you're looking to sob your heart out, or feel emotionally shaken, this is not the film for you - but that's not what this film intends to do.
Negatives: However, from the sound of my review, it may sound like I'm gushing about this movie. But there are a few things that I did not like, or particularly enjoy.
I will say right off the bat though, and some may disagree with me which is fine because film is subjective; there wasn't anything in the film BLATANTLY cringe-worthy or offensive to me.
I do agree with many people in saying that the story is the weak part of the film. I do think that music is amazingly strong, but the in-between parts of the film feel rushed. This film is RELATIVELY short clocking in at an hour and forty five, but I strongly believe that this film could have added twenty extra minutes.
Hugh Jackman's performance was brilliant, but his character, PT Barnum, felt extremely rushed at times. He went from a nice guy, to a selfish guy, to a nice guy, and back and forth again. And this could have worked very well, but what didn't work about it was the fact that it felt extremely rushed. There wasn't enough development given to his character, which was sad because there is a ton of potential there.
And again, the transitions between the musical numbers were not the smoothest.There were also some pieces of dialogue that were rather bland, and sometimes the child-actor's delvery wasn't the greatest, but other than that, there isn't anything glaringly negative to me.
Character Ranking (By actor)
1. Hugh Jackman
2. Zac Efron
3. Michelle Williams
4. Zendaya
5. Rebecca Ferguson
The Music/Score: TREAT. YOURSELF. TO. THIS. SOUNDTRACK. This soundtrack elevates this film from a 5 to a 7 and a half almost. Seriously, this music is incredible. I knew before seeing the film that the music itself was great. But seeing it in the film itself, with the dance sequences and choreography was absolutely incredible. It was almost all one-shot, no cut, which I really appreciated. And what I appreciated even more was the way it was integrated into the story. Every song (except for one I think) had a purpose for being there, and they all served to build characters up and show exposition in a different kind of way. I. ABSOLUTELY. LOVE. THE. MUSIC.
Song Ranking (just for musicals)
1. Tightrope
2. A Million Dreams
3. From Now On
4. Rewrite the Stars
5. Never Enough
6. The Greatest Show
7. Come Alive
8. This is Me
1. Hugh Jackman
2. Zac Efron
3. Michelle Williams
4. Zendaya
5. Rebecca Ferguson
The Music/Score: TREAT. YOURSELF. TO. THIS. SOUNDTRACK. This soundtrack elevates this film from a 5 to a 7 and a half almost. Seriously, this music is incredible. I knew before seeing the film that the music itself was great. But seeing it in the film itself, with the dance sequences and choreography was absolutely incredible. It was almost all one-shot, no cut, which I really appreciated. And what I appreciated even more was the way it was integrated into the story. Every song (except for one I think) had a purpose for being there, and they all served to build characters up and show exposition in a different kind of way. I. ABSOLUTELY. LOVE. THE. MUSIC.
Song Ranking (just for musicals)
1. Tightrope
2. A Million Dreams
3. From Now On
4. Rewrite the Stars
5. Never Enough
6. The Greatest Show
7. Come Alive
8. This is Me
The Verdict: On its own, this film is pretty average. There's really nothing special about this film and that's neither here nor there. But this film is highly elevated by the amazing music that it integrates, and I think that the performances give this film the boost that it needs. Walking out of the theater, I felt good, and I think that most people will, regardless of what the critics say. Letter Grade: B-. Number Score: 7.4/10
**IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER**: Letter grades and Number grades do not mean the same thing. Just because I give a film an A does not mean it gets a 9.5 or above. They do not line up like a traditional school grading system To see specifics, see below.
A- to A+: Amazing
B- to B+: Enjoyable, but Flawed
C- to C+: Redeemable in some cases, but heavily Flawed
D- to D+: Nothing but Flaws
F: A Failure of a Film
9-10: Great to nearly Perfect
8-9: Very Good
7-8: Good
6-7: Okay
5-6: Average/Mediocre
4-5: Apparently Flawed
3-4: Heavily Flawed
2-3: A complete and utter mess
0-2: A Failure of a Film
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