Spectacular

Rating: 9/10 (24 April 2018)

Hugh Jackman a.k.a the Wolverine returns for another spectacular original performance in an original musical/historical tale of someone who started out with nothing and rose to having everything needed to create a worldwide phenomenon. The Greatest Showman follows optimistic visionary P.T. Barnum on his journey to assemble a cast of talented outcasts of society to create the circus that eventually evolved into the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. This is Jackman's second film of 2017, the first being Logan, the final film starring and ending his iconic role as Wolverine. One thing this film does great at is reminding us audience viewers that while Jackman's career as Wolverine may be over, that doesn't signify the end of his career as an actor. Hugh Jackman truly is amazing in that sense and here we see him using his amazing talents for other areas of film acting and if anyone is more perfect to lead an ensemble cast of actors in a musical it's Wolverine and Jackman can definitely sing. This isn't the first time he has been in a spectacle of a musical film as he starred in the 2012 musical epic Les Miserables as Jean Valjean, a performance he killed just as he kills his role in the Greatest Showman.
Additionally, the rest of the cast do great work in their parts, some honorable mentions are Zac Efron (High School Musical) and Zendaya (Spider-Man Homecoming), both who killed their performances and are vocally talented, not surprising since both were once stars of Disney Channel. The background sets look as though it took great effort to get them to look so great, the costumes were designed smoothly and the musical numbers were beautifully written and performed by the cast. This is because the lyricists from the 2016 musical La La Land wrote several of the songs for the film. Despite all that made this film worthy of recognition, it did not have the same immense appeal as both La La Land and Les Miserables had when they were released. Like many film interpretations of real events, this one isn't without audience members calling it out for historical inaccuracies. Additionally the film got criticized for various reasons including the filmmakers representing acceptance of diversity themes, lacking in storytelling and creating a fantasy aspect through the presentations of Barnum's circus. While it may not be all perfect, Jackman himself holds the entire film together and it is simply a fun, inspirational, heartwarming musical for families to enjoy and not take too serious.