It isn't perfect and it isn't for everyone, but it is truly spectacular.

Rating: 9/10 (22 January 2018)

I am a huge fan of musicals. I'm an actor, I went to school for theater, and am intimately familiar with the works of Sondheim, Webber, Tim Rice, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Larson, Miranda, etc. I absolutely love musicals on both stage and screen.
Firstly, what you'll hear a lot in other reviews is that it's pretty simple and straightforward. This is absolutely true, but it's not necessarily a negative. This is a PG Disney movie, so set your expectations accordingly.
Secondly, it also isn't strict in its biographical take on P.T. Barnum. It plays with the story, and turns it into something closer to a fable than a documentary. Again, this is not a negative, unless you were expecting a documentary style movie.
With both of these things in mind, this is why I love this movie: because it is incredibly clear that everyone working on it did, too. This movie ends up being a splashy, live action, musical fable about the wonderous possibilities of chasing your dreams, and being careful not to let them run away with you. It's filled to the brim with striking choreography (including one of my absolute favorite bar numbers), splendid visuals, and energetic and uplifting music. It has its share of low moments throughout the movie, careful to avoid both inaccurately showing Barnum's or the performers' lives as being perfect and unchallenging, and being incessantly happy for a two hour musical.
Ultimately, this movie shows itself to be nothing more or less than a two hour love letter to the musical genre, set to a dazzling take on the life of a great entertainer, and built on the message of being true to yourself and proud of it. It is the definition of a feelgood movie, and there isn't anything wrong with that.