Scribes & Archers

I never review movies on this blog unless I’m really impressed with the storytelling (and so far none of them have reached that bar), but The Greatest Showman was so stunning that I have to write about it. “Review” likely won’t be the best description of what you’re about to read, because this movie is beyond breathtaking, so be prepared for me to circle around to the same things and totally exhaust my vocabulary of positive adjectives.

I went into this movie knowing that it was going to be good. I didn’t go in with super high expectations, but I’d had friends tell me it was amazing, and I’d seen/heard ads on YouTube and Spotify that caught my attention, so I knew it was going to be good. Let me just say that it blew my expectations WAY out of the park. I mean… Stunning, breathtaking, gorgeous, incredible… None of these words even come CLOSE to describing this movie, it is just so absolutely spectacular.

I was hooked from the very first scene. You want a hook? Go watch that first scene. It makes SUCH an impact right off the bat, and the build-up is incredible. You can tell just from that first scene that it’s going to be gorgeous and amazing.

After that we watch a couple of the characters go explore an abandoned house and that’s when it really captured a sense of wonder and imagination. I don’t think I’ve ever watched or read something that so captured my sense of wonder. That’s when I first started tearing up, because it was simply gorgeous to watch, and the song they sing… Ahhhhhhhh. I fell in love with that song from the very beginning. I mean… Wow.

And the scenes on the roof with him and his family… They’re so beautiful. Visually, musically, and emotionally. Another time I teared up. Seriously, the sense of awe and wonder… It’s incredible to experience.

Then we get into the rest of the movie, and really all I can say about it is that it’s gorgeous to watch. The choreography, the music, all of it is simply breathtakingly spectacular. Like I said, I teared up multiple times through the thing. If you want an example of the way I was feeling – and honestly the best description of what I was feeling is “euphoria” – just watch P. T. Barnum’s face when he hears Jenny Lind sing.

The next point of note that really, really sticks in my head is when they’re performing This Is Me in the ring, and you can just SEE all of the extra venom and vehemence in Anne’s dancing, and I would just like to offer the greatest kudos to Zendaya because that performance was INCREDIBLE. I don’t think I’ve ever seen one greater, honestly.

And the ending scenes… That ending was simple stunning, and I doubt I’ve seen or read a more satisfying, breathtaking ending to anything. It was… Yeah, I’m out of words. Just… You have to watch it to understand.

There is just so much that is spectacular in this movie, and no review anyone could write could possibly capture even a modicum of it. It’s truly something that you just have to experience for yourself, because it’s just so breathtaking and it’s such an impacting thing… It’s spectacular. It’s definitely not a movie you only watch once, and I’m so incredibly thankful that I had the opportunity to watch it on the big screen. If you haven’t watched The Greatest Showman yet, I insist that you watch it at your earliest possible convenience, because it is the best movie I’ve ever seen, definitely my new favorite, and it’s just… I’ll refrain this time from using the same words all again, but it’s simply beyond words. English honestly doesn’t have an adequate word to describe this movie. Definitely go see it as soon as you can, whether that’s in theaters or after it comes out. It’s incredible.