As a music video? Definitely 11/10.

Rating: 7/10 (5 February 2018)

As a movie though? Not quite sure.
Musical is one of the most popular genre in the film industry. Some people don't like it and I have no problem with it. I totally won't bash you with a furious rant on Twitter. I, however, am a very big fan of it. Tap dancing, catchy tunes, gleeful choreographies, those things make my eyes tear up with fascination. Last year we got an almost perfect musical with Damien Chazelle's La La Land. An original musical that caught attention of both viewers and critics alike and was rewarded with the seven Oscar nods for that year. In spirit of La La Land's success, Fox decided to go ahead with their own take on an original musical. They decided to cast Hugh Jackman as its lead. Hugh Jackman was also known for his portrayal of Jean Valjean in the musical Les Miserables, which I also adored. Add up all that factors and you could see that I am really anticipating this movie.
Is this movie bad? Not at all. In fact, it was very entertaining, and a lot of people liked it. Am I disappointed though? Well, a wee bit. As a movie, I thought it had plenty of flaws. Especially the writing. I felt that it was very sloppy. Every scene felt as though it was only a mean as to get to another musical scene. I couldn't really connect with the characters because only glimpses are seen. Just when we are introduced to a character, the movie abruptly chops their development and suddenly shows us the same character but with a wholly different personality. And I'm just left questioning where it came from. However, it is a musical. And what's a musical without a good musical scene. And when those scenes do come, boy oh boy were they fantastic.
Every musical scene in this movie is just fantastic. It's pretty much why I love musicals. It's epic, it's romantic and it's emotional. It is very well directed. Knowing that the director came from a background of music videos, no wonder he nailed this down. Every scene was pitch perfect a la 50's musicals. The singing was also great, most of the actors recorded with their own voice and they did not disappoint. And most importantly, the song was really good. This is really important because in the end, the thing that makes musicals so damn memorable, is its fantastic songs. I listened to the album for weeks on end, and apparently, other people do too. In Indonesia's Apple Music top five tracks, apparently four of them were tracks from The Greatest Showman. I also want to point out that the movie's songwriters, were the guys from La La Land, which won an Oscar. That explains why the music's so damn good.
In the end, it wasn't the La La Land I expected it to be, nor was it the Les Miserables I expected it to be. However, as a musical, it is a damn good musical and an extravagant entertainment for families to enjoy. Yes, take your kids to see this movie because this movie actually has a really good message buried inside it. Especially now, in the age where tolerance is an utmost requirement. Turn off your worries, and let the movie work its magic.