An Immensely entertaining, if unfocused, musical

Rating: 7/10 (2 April 2018)

I can easily imagine this film being an issue for some people. It takes a controversial historical figure, and invents an almost entirely fictional version of his life that portrays him not as the flawed capitalist who exploited people to make his riches that he was in real life, but as a passionate entertainer that gives the 'freaks' in his show an opportunity to express themselves.
Also, the music is very separated from the tone and the setting of the story itself. The film is set in the mid 1800's, but all of the music is post-2010's pop anthems. Every song feels out of place within a true historical world, and most of the music feels more like Top 40 stuff you hear on the radio.
But...I still like it. It's fun. It's really fun. It's a movie motivated not by plot or history or character, but by pure emotion. The music especially portrays this incredibly well. Songs like Rewrite the Stars, The Other Side and For Now On are just fun to watch and listen to.
If you don't like the music, there's nothing for you here. This movie is kinda bad when you separate it from the music, but hey, let's just call this film a not-guilty guilty pleasure of mine. It's just fun.