Lin-Manuel Miranda’s newest musical, “tick, tick…BOOM!”, does not disappoint as it blows viewers away with the amazing performances and storytelling

The PG-13 musical earned itself an 87 percent Rotten Tomatoes score and an audience score of 96 percent. The new film adaption of the broadway musical has received positive reviews since it first came to Netflix Nov. 12 and has continued to gain popularity since it’s drop. 

As the musical starts viewers are encaptured by the first musical number whichsets the tone for the rest of the film. There are two stories being told as one, the actual musical ‘tick, tick..BOOM!’ and the story of how and why it was created by Jonathan Larson who is most known for his creation of ‘Rent’, a broadway musical . 

The music, which could be considered one of the most important parts of the film, did not stick to one genre but a variety of different genres. Each song told a story that tugged on the heartstrings of the audience carrying emotions that made viewers empathize with the characters their triumphs, their pain and desperation, fear and joy.

The first song titled “30/90,” catches a glimpse of how Larson feels approaching his 30th birthday and still has yet to finish his musical while still keeping the audience engaged with its catchy tune and relatable theme for some viewers. 

In another song titled “Johnny Can’t Decide” allows the audience to see the frustration that Larson feels, everyone has faced the crossroad where they had to make a choice but did not know which choice to make. This song was relatable and easy to connect with while also having captivating  lyrics that kept viewers engaged. 

The music and it’s lyrics helped the audience connect with the characters despite the almost chaotic setting of the film, going back and forth between Larson telling his story and the actual story happening in front of their eyes. But the music was not the only part of this Netflix film that captured the audience’s attention and hearts.

The cast helped tell the story of Larson and the musical itself, they were able to tell the story through phenomenal acting as well as the singing. An example of this was Andrew Garfield who plays Larson, the audience was able to see his desperation and panic with every hair tug and wide eyed look from Garfield. 

Viewers were able to watch as Larson became more desperate and frustrated throughout the film. Garfield was able to show how important the musical was to Larson and how it became his main focus in life while the other cast members showed how their characters were trying to reach out to Larson. 

An example of this is Robin de Jesús who plays Michael, the best friend of Larson, who is able to get the audience to love his character and his easy going nature while becoming aware of Michael’s own struggles and story which will affect Larson and what he creates next. 

Each character, while not the main focus like Larson, has their own story and struggles and because of the cast the audience grows fond of those characters and are able to see all sides of the story and not just Larson’s. 

Overall, tick tick…boom magnificently tells the tale of Johnathan Larson and teaches the lesson of how is actions affect those around him, earning it a – out of – in my opinion and is well worth the watch.