There is a blast of true soul power in Eddie Murphy’s performance as a James Brown type.

Neither thought-provoking nor entertaining enough - remains largely average and underwhelming.

You may not be expecting this from a musical, but Dreamgirls is one of the most fast-paced, frenetically-edited, roller-coaster rides of a movie that you'll see all year.

Disconnect yourself from the story, which follows the basic rise-and-fall lifeline of every musician biopic ever, and you’ll at least be able to enjoy several good songs and a [good] performance by Eddie Murphy.