<P> On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 56% based on 207 reviews, and an average rating of 6 / 10 . The website's critical consensus reads, "The Greatest Showman tries hard to dazzle the audience with a Barnum - style sense of wonder--but at the expense of its complex subject's far more intriguing real - life story ." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 48 out of 100, based on 43 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale, while it earned a 70% "definite recommend" from comScore . </P> <P> Owen Gleiberman of Variety gave the film a positive review, writing, "The Greatest Showman is a concoction, the kind of film where all the pieces click into place, yet at an hour and 45 minutes it flies by, and the link it draws between P.T. Barnum and the spirit of today is more than hype ." Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun - Times gave the film 3 / 4 stars, saying, "With all that corn and cheese and old - timey sentiment, The Greatest Showman ends up scoring some very timely social arguments . P.T. Barnum himself would have approved the dramatic sleight of hand ." Steve Persall of Tampa Bay Times gave the film an' A', and said, "The Greatest Showman is the feel - good movie the holiday season needs," while William Bibbiani of IGN gave The Greatest Showman a score of 7.9 / 10, and called the film, "wildly entertaining ." </P> <P> Britton Peele of The Dallas Morning News said, "The story is interesting and the beats are well - acted, but it's the musical numbers that make The Greatest Showman ." Jackie K Cooper of HuffPost gave the film a score of 10 / 10 and wrote, "You will be overwhelmed by the music and magic that explode on the screen . The film has a message that should resonate with today's world concerning acceptance and courage ." Hugh Armitage of Digital Spy said, "The Greatest Showman is a broad and solid crowd - pleaser . An undemanding spectacle for all the family ." Alan Jones of Radio Times called it "A joyously uplifting potpourii of visual resplendence, stylish choreography and solid gold magic, one engineered to approximate the lavish spectacle the movie musical once offered ." </P> <P> Sheila O'Malley of RogerEbert.com gave it 3.5 / 4, stating "The Greatest Showman is an unabashed piece of pure entertainment punctuated by memorable songs ." Douglas Davidson of CLTure called the film, "An undeniable spectacle with a infectious soundtrack, a movie that dazzles and delights ." James Berardinelli of ReelViews gave the film a 3 / 4 score, and said, "The film has show - stopping well - choreographed numbers with catchy tunes," and Calvin Wilson of St. Louis Post-Dispatch called the film "highly enjoyable ." </P>

Who wrote the song for the greatest showman