Bad film; bad musical.

Rating: 3/10 (26 February 2019)

I don't write reviews, but I felt I had to comment on this. I want more original musicals, but this is a terrible example (and this isn't even about Hugh Jackman's singing). The songs in this film are the most generic pop crap you could imagine. If you told someone who didn't know the songs that they were by *-insert modern pop artist-*, rather than from a musical, they would have no reason to dispute it. I have a feeling this was done on purpose, to hit popular music charts, and generate interest, but it makes the film seem like nothing more than a vehicle for the pointless pop songs. The plot is similarly generic. The main plot is at least pretty consistent: Barnum wants to be rich, to show his wife's family that they were wrong about him. It also has a few minor side plots that don't really go anywhere. At one point, the freaks try to get into a party, and Barnum shuts them out; they realise he's embarrassed by them, just like everyone else, and then... nothing? It didn't seem to actually be resolved, but by the end they're acting like he's just always cared about them, or something (they really just threw on the most flowery, pointless, "none of the rest of this film happened" happy ending I've ever seen). The other main side plot was about an interracial relationship between Zac Efron's and Zendaya's characters. Came out of nowhere, and achieved nothing. This film's story was totally pointless. Otherwise, the big dance scenes were mostly flashy, but not particularly good. There's probably more to be said, but, you know, I'm not a critic.