Good songs, but they don't come across well

Rating: 4/10 (27 December 2017)

Although I do like a lot of their songs, I wouldn't consider myself a huge fan of The Beatles. I tend to like other contemporary artists better and in some cases I prefer the careers that McCartney and Lennon had after the group split. Therefore I wasn't particularly fussed about watching this drama-documentary-comedy-musical that follows the fab four around at the height of their fame. It's short in black and white with an on-street vibe by Musketeers director Richard Lester, but what comes across to me is just how unpleasant the group members are. They make constant wisecracks and jokes, but a lot of them seem to be sarcastic and mean-spirited, which I didn't find appealing at all. The songs are great and break up the rest of the tedium, and casting proper actors like Wilfrid Brambell in support was a great idea, but the rest is merely inconsequential - unless you're a fan who can't get enough of them.