I saw it in theaters and enjoyed the experience quite a lot. However, before I get too into it, I suppose I should disclaimer that my degree is in Film (Theory/History and Production).
For some reason, while the music was very technical-quality excellent, none of it seemed catchy or memorable. After walking out of the theater, I couldn't remember any specific song well enough to sing it back. I loved "This is Me" while in the theater, but again, I can't remember any of it to sing it back. And most memorable musicals are memorable in part because of their catchy songs - Somewhere Over the Rainbow, Oklahoma!, Memory, etc.
The visuals were stunning, as I'd expect from a production like this, and the production design is stellar.
My biggest issue is that it felt like once we get to Act 3, the film suddenly gets rocket boosters and turbo boosts to the end. We spend so much time setting everything up in Act 1 and 2, and then suddenly Act 3 is warp speed and feels like there's so much missing out that I felt like there was at least another 30 minutes of story I was missing, which made it feel incomplete or rushed.
Other than that, though, I enjoyed it quite a bit for what it was. I just have a few nitpicks with it.
-GT
Actually, to be honest, these were the only things I disliked about the movie. (Disliked isn't even the right word though, too strong.) However, I did notice that the day after, I started remembering parts of the songs. Now I can remember pretty much all of The Other Side and Rewrite the Stars. That's cool that your degree is in Film. My brother and I are both trying to get into film (he as a camera operator, and myself as an actor), so it's neat to see others with similar interests.
