All flash, no filling

Rating: 4/10 (12 January 2019)

Great music! Cool musical moments. But I really wish this movie wasn't based on a real person. If it were a pure fantasy, I could have gotten into this more. But knowing PT Barnum is who he is, I constantly wondered 'how did this event really happen.' Because the movie churns through scenes without developing characters or really showing you how Barnum got his ideas/became famous and instead flips the events into moments of fantasy. And that is the main problem - we don't get to know any of the characters particularly well (even Barnum). The script glosses over everything with pizzazz and spectacle but never lets the audience feel, understand or know why characters acted the way they did. Instead, it is a paint-by-numbers formula of every other musical you've ever seen, bringing nothing new to the mix (just a mishmash of cliches). I want to feel sad when the character loses something because I was along with the journey with them and understand their loss, or come to the conclusion that a character was truly motivated to be loved through the scenes and actions of the characters that I saw. Instead The Greatest Showman tells you 'this is the scene where you're supposed to cry' with its loud music and flash. So in an ironic way, this film is the perfect representation of Barnum's work/career - something of spectacle and no substance.