AnimatronicBearLLC Those four lads from Liverpool had unfortunately broken up before I discovered them on AM radio, but in my pre-teen years their singularly unique sound weaved it's way into my life and has remained there for half a century. How I missed the release of this wild ride of a film I can only attest to an ill-timed move across the country combined with the 2008 global financial crisis. Although a decade late taking it in, I would like to express appreciation to the talented team of professionals who lovingly crafted this ode to musical genius - a genius which transcended all that went before & possibly all that has come to be since- IMHO. A bit inspired I think by Mamma Mia! with a dash of Forrest Gump, this film brought back memories sad and happy as the familiar songs punctuated the films narrative... sparking reflections of people and events long past. This magical mystery tour may not be for everyone as it is not your typical musical fare, but for someone who lived through the tumultuous 60s and 70s, it struck a chord. As a Beatles fan, I loved it.

mrgakn I watched it 2 years ago. My friend Scott told me it was great. I always trust his presentation. That why I seen it. It's by American director Julie Taymor. All the actors are great, but I liked Evan Rachel Wood and Jim Sturgess the best. Across the universe is a fictional love story set in the 1960s amid the turbulent years of anti-war protest. It's a romantic story and the film paired many songs by The Beatles that defined the time. I thought it was an interesting and exciting film, so try to watch it if you want.

StudentOfEtherium I liked this movie. That said, I think this movie is terrible. The plot is boring and characters are more often than not pointless. What redeems this movie, and makes it a guilty pleasure are the music scenes. They are creatively designed, and the singing is decent. When viewed as a series of unconnected music videos, this is very enjoyable. However, that doesn't make it a good movie. Without any real narrative structure, the set design is really the only shining part of this movie. I would recommend this movie to people who enjoy creativity, and fans of music, but most other people would just find it boring. So, while flawed, I can still enjoy this movie, and hope to see more like it in the future.

michaelmunkvold "Across the Universe" is like a bad Beatles cover band. It means well, tries hard, and plays the band's catalog with love in its heart - but it's a waste of time. At the end of the show, you find yourself wishing that you had stayed home and listened to the real thing. Like most cover versions of Beatles songs, "Across the Universe" is awful, a poorly written and badly sung music video masquerading as a movie. The story is shallow, the characters paper-thin, and the musical numbers ridiculously over-the-top. That it drags some of the greatest pop music of the 20th century down with it just adds insult to injury.The plot, if you must: Lucy, Jude, Maxwell, Sadie and Prudence (get it?) sing Beatles songs as they move along with the change and upheaval of the 1960s, with each song representing a key event of the times. They drop acid while singing "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds". They tune in, turn on and drop out to "Revolution". They get drafted to "Happiness is a Warm Gun". Finally, as if there was any doubt, they realize that "All You Need is Love".I wasn't there for the 1960s, so I can't say what those times were like for people coming of age in that moment of history. No one involved in this movie seems to know, either. The themes of the time - the anti-war movement, changing sexual mores, drug experimentation - are given such shallow treatment that they have no real resonance for the audience. It's as if the protagonists are standing outside of the world they live in, so apart from the scene that they could have walked in from another movie. They know the words, but not the music.Wow, do they not know the music. The cast members are all technically proficient singers, but they put no feeling, no soul, into their renditions of Beatles songs. Jim Sturgess and Evan Rachel Wood, who play star-crossed lovers Jude and Lucy, sing "Strawberry Fields Forever" during a breakup scene, but with none of the loneliness that John Lennon put into every syllable. Joe Anderson, who plays Maxwell, sings "With a Little Help From My Friends" during a party sequence, but his rendition has none of the childlike joy that Ringo Starr brought to the original. Sturgess' "Happiness is a Warm Gun", sung while he unconvincingly shoots heroin, is so bad it's offensive.Writer/director Julie Taymor makes each song into a ridiculously big set piece. The "Strawberry Fields" number has giant, papier-mache strawberries. "Happiness is a Warm Gun" is accompanied by Salma Hayek floating in a syringe. I don't think I can describe the "Why Don't We Do It In the Road?" number in a family-friendly blog.Taymor is clearly a devoted Beatles fan, and works really hard to make her audience love these songs. Thing is, the band doesn't need her help. The Beatles are part of our cultural DNA; they don't need to be introduced to new generations, because they have been transcending generations for 50 years. Like a bad cover band, this movie has no reason to exist, and just makes us pine for the real thing.