Movie Review: The Greatest Showman

Rating: 6/10 (6 April 2019)

First things first this movie is extremely entertaining as a family friendly musical but I have the same problem with it that I've had since its inception, casting P. T. Barnum as an underdog hero undermines the horrors of the true story. Leave the real accounts of these characters to one side however and I don't have all too much of an issue with the greatest showman. The musical numbers are all pretty good and are accompanied by fantastic choreography. The cast are also great, Hugh Jackman and Michelle Williams turn in performances you would expect from actors of their talent and Zendaya and Zac Efron really hold their own in challenging roles. I think there is a more interesting P. T. Barnum biopic to be made but this works fine as a family movie with a good message. With a string of lazy and annoying kids movies in recent years this is a film I would highly recommend to any parent. It Doesn't fully sugarcoat it's source martial but it also still wants you to route for Barnum, depending on how that makes you feel, this movie ain't half bad.