The Greatest Showman Reviews- Page 2

[Sauja]

Posted: 12/20/17 at 2:39pm

mc1227 said: "So, when something like this comes out, I don’t care if someone’s voice is thin, an actor stumbles on a word, the production numbers are overdone. I am happy there is a movie out that I can watch and appreciate the attempt to recreate a stage production."

But do you care if it's AWFUL? Yes, most movie musicals that have come out in the past ten years have been highly criticized. They've also been largely awful--the terrible Nine and Jersey Boys movies were already cited. There have also been the hideous Les Mis and Phantom movies. I may be alone on a limb here, but I also despised La La Land. But my point is that I'd rather audiences not get the impression that musicals are terrible by going to really dreadful film musicals. There have been exceptions--Dreamgirls, Chicago, Hairspray--and those movies were justifiably praised. I LOVE a good movie musical. But The Greatest Showman isn't one. It's the worst excesses of Baz Luhrman mixed with a personal worst score from Pasek and Paul (by a mile) and a script that is an atrocity. Support musical movies, sure. But support the good ones.

[Jeffrey Karasarides]

Posted: 12/20/17 at 4:45pm

Kad said: "But the critiques aren't about things like that. Most of them are raising rather substantial criticisms with the very core of the movie itself and how it approaches its subject matter- not exactly a trifling thing.

And correct me if I'm wrong, but high profile modern movie musicals seem to have been doing pretty well with critics and getting a pretty fair shake (duds like Jersey Boys and Nine were disliked by audiences and critic alike)."

Not always. There are tons of movies that have gotten such divided responses from audiences (especially musicals). I remember being very fascinated by how divided people were on the Les Miz film. There were people who loved it, people who admired it, and people who hated it.

[Clyde15]

Posted: 12/21/17 at 2:08am

I just got out of the theatre so I want to write my intial thoughts down before I sleep on it.

1. The movie is visually stunning. It was absolutely beautiful and I think they did an incredible job with it.
2. The movie was too short and focused on too many things. There wasn’t enough struggle in Barnum getting his circus up and running. I would have liked to see more focus on that.
3. The score was incredible. I personally loved the all songs and genuinely hope This is Me is nominated for an Oscar.
4. This is not the Oscar winning film I think we thought it was going to be. It’s a feel good family movie that fits perfectly for the holidays. At my screening people all walked out with huge smiles on our faces and humming the songs. I think the movie did exactly what it was supposed to do.
5. I think this is a story better suited for the stage. In my personal opinion opinion, had this been a 2.5 hour stage musical they could have had more time to expand on the struggles of Barnum and dive deeper into certain story lines. It seemed liked they wanted to keep it short and sweet so it could be aimed towards families.

This is just my initial thoughts. I’ll definitely be interested to se ehow the movie performs over the weekend.

[A Director]

Posted: 12/21/17 at 4:09am

Clyde15 - There is a stage musical called BARNUM. Look it up!

[dramamama611]

Posted: 12/21/17 at 6:37am

Oh, for christ's sake.   Like there can't BE two musicals about the same thing?   Hell, we even have TWO that were playing at the same time (I think) of Wild Party.

[newintown]

Posted: 12/21/17 at 7:52am

"Like there can't BE two musicals about the same thing?"

Brings up an interesting question - have there ever been two successful musicals about the same thing?

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 12/21/17 at 9:08am

The wiz and wicked? Kind of.

[GeorgeandDot]

Posted: 12/21/17 at 9:15am

I can't believe that in 2017 they made an uplifting, feel good movie musical about the creator of the human zoo. Tone deaf much?

[boonanas]

Posted: 12/21/17 at 10:44am

Loved the score, the plot felt rushed but it didn't matter, wasn't really in it for the plot.  

[spiderdj822]

Posted: 12/21/17 at 10:47am

Saw "The Greatest Showman" last night and, while not perfect (they rushed the plot - so no real character development - and sometimes the pacing was slow)  I really, really enjoyed it.  The visuals, music, dancing, and Hugh Jackman's charisma made it for me.  It was a good 2 hours to forget the political climate and whatever else is going on in the world, and enjoy watching a movie musical on the big screen.   

[everythingtaboo]

Posted: 12/21/17 at 10:48am

It's nice to see Keala getting the love in the midst of the negative reaction from the movie. But it'll be interesting (though not surprising) if This Is Me gets an nomination, that it'll be Zendaya singing it at the Oscars.

[spiderdj822]

Posted: 12/21/17 at 10:53am

While "This Is Me" will more than likely be the song nominated for an Oscar (as it should be)..........I really wish  "Never Enough" would get some type of credit.   I actually teared up when that scene happened.  Gorgeous song sung by a gorgeous vocalist in Loren Allred. 

[jo]

Posted: 12/21/17 at 11:02am

 If nominated, there is no doubt that Keala will likely sing it at the Oscars, maybe dressed as The Bearded Lady. When Hugh presented early footage and the project concept at a gathering of theater exhibitors, CinemaCon in LA, he was said to have showered praises on Keala.  At the Hollywood press screening for the movie,  Keala sang THIS IS ME.  Also,  in the story narrated by Hugh as to what happened after Keala sang the song at the February 2016 final workshop,  it was FOX Chairman/CEO Stacey Snider who hugged Keala and told her that she has just booked her first film in a major studio!

Interestingly, she was not the first one to sing the song in public. In late 2015, Hugh introduced the song at his concert series in Australia, with a different set of arrangements ( because it was meant for a female vocalist).  But now, if there is anyone identified very strongly with a particular song in the movie, it has to be Keala Settle and THIS IS ME!

 

[jo]

Posted: 12/21/17 at 11:06am

spiderdj822 said: "While "This Is Me" will more than likely be the song nominated for an Oscar (as it should be)..........I really wish "Never Enough" would get some type of credit. I actually teared up when that scene happened. Gorgeous song sung by a gorgeous vocalist in Loren Allred."

FOX submitted only one song to the AMPAS for their consideration... and in the recent list of eligible songs for Oscar honors, that was THIS IS ME. Maybe this was done so as not to cancel each other out with any other candidate from SHOWMAN  for BEST ORIGINAL SONG?

 

[Jjohansan]

Posted: 12/21/17 at 1:17pm

Just watched an interview that Keala and Hugh did where Keala mentions that Shoshana Bean did the demo for "This is Me"..Boy am I hoping that recording surfaces at some point

[mamaleh]

Posted: 12/21/17 at 6:01pm

Deadline, RogerEbert.com, Variety and other major reviewing entities -- even The Guardian -- were positive on the movie, as was the movie-going public, who gave TGS an "A" on Cinemascore.  Me, I know only what I like.  And I really, truly liked this imperfect yet eminently watchable movie.  It may not win Oscars, but the music and Jackman deserve their Golden Globe nominations. 

Updated On: 12/25/17 at 06:01 PM

[Jarethan]

Posted: 12/21/17 at 9:41pm

I have read several brutal reviews, including the NY Times.  Given the glut of movies all out at the same time, have to admit that I am likely to wait till it is on 'HBO.'  The last scoring I saw on Rotten Tomatoes was a 45 (ouch).  It is a good thing this movie didn't cost much to produce; I am betting that it is going g to be a huge bomb.

[theatretenor2]

Posted: 12/21/17 at 10:36pm

Jarethan said: "I have read several brutal reviews, including the NY Times. Given the glut of movies all out at the same time, have to admit that I am likely to wait till it is on 'HBO.' The last scoring I saw on Rotten Tomatoes was a 45 (ouch). It is a good thing this movie didn't cost much to produce; I am betting that it is going g to be a huge bomb."

I would recommend seeing it in theaters for the visual aspects alone. It's true that the movie's plot lives on the surface at best. The plot is rushed through. However, the visuals, choreography and music make up for it. Definitely worth seeing in theaters.

[smallvillefan16]

Posted: 12/22/17 at 11:35pm

 Absolutely loved the film.  Everyone in the Los Angeles theater clapped after each performance and at the end.  It's the musical that LA LA Land should have been.  It has heart, wonder, magic and talent.  It made me feel like this is what it was like in the 30s-50s when an original musical came out weekly.  I highly recommend this film.  It's just a happy piece of fluff that doesn't try to be anything but amaze and wonder.  It does so.

[spiderdj82]

Posted: 12/23/17 at 12:13am

^^Agreed

[Wayman_Wong]

Posted: 12/23/17 at 10:53am

''The Greatest Showman'' lacks character development and historical accuracy, and is a ridiculous whitewashing of a 19th-century showman who exploited human ''oddities'' and instead tries to rebrand him as a champion of human individuality. In the movie, P.T. Barnum's story is as fake as the bad CGI. Things are totally fictionalized, like Carlyle (a business partner played by Zac Efron); ditto, for an interracial romance with a trapeze artist (Zendaya). No one ages in the film. And totally missing from Barnum's movie is his first success: Joyce Heth, an elderly African-American woman he promoted as George Washington's 160-year-old nurse. She put him on the map, but is ignored and forgotten.

If you're proud of what ''The Greatest Showman'' is, so be it, but Twentieth Century Fox isn't. Back in October, Jeffrey Wells, who writes the Hollywood Elsewhere column, says their execs basically told him that they didn't think this movie was best-picture material. As Deadline.com reports: ''As we got deeper into awards season, Fox got cold feet, and we hear that’s because they knew critics weren’t going to warm to the pic (now at 50% Rotten at Rotten Tomatoes).'' Which is why reviews were embargoed until the day before it opened, and Fox was right to be afraid of them.

USA Today: ''Send in the clowns. ... A disappointing circus of thinly developed characters, overly earnest melodrama and song-and-dance sequences that are more like unrelated music videos.''

L.A. Times: ''Directed with bland competence by Michael Gracey, it is both a fitful hoot and a remarkably upbeat con job. ... You don't believe what the filmmakers are selling for an instant.''

Hollywood Reporter: ''This ersatz portrait of P.T. Barnum is all smoke and mirrors, no substance. ... The interchangeably generic pop songs are so numbingly overproduced.'' 

Rolling Stone: ''A virtuoso Hugh Jackman as P.T. Barnum, spare-no-expense production values and a score by Oscar & Tony winners Benj Pasek and Justin Paul add up to a shrill blast of nothing.'' 

 

Updated On: 12/23/17 at 10:53 AM

[boonanas]

Posted: 12/23/17 at 8:35pm

I believe that this film has more entertainment value then La La Land... controversial.. I know.

[Theatre Fan3]

Posted: 12/23/17 at 9:39pm

Who cares what the critics say!!  Not every movie has to be historically accurate and in depth character development.  Can't a movie sometimes be just good clean escapist entertainment?  Anything that sends an audience out of the theatre smiling and humming the tunes, giving them a well deserved break of the all too "real" reality of their daily lives can't be all bad!!  But I guess there will always be those who think a Rotten Tomatoes score should be the final word in whether or not a person should enjoy a movie ... I feel sorry for those people.

[Eboyd514]

Posted: 12/23/17 at 10:00pm

Absolutely loved this movie. It’s was so fun. Yes the plot was pretty weak but honestly it didn’t matter. Music was great!!!! It’s amazing escape from reality for a couple of hours

[Glittergrrl]

Posted: 12/23/17 at 10:02pm

I will never see a movie that celebrates a man who enslaved and exploited animals.