Great visuals, Dana Fuchs and songs, poor everything else

Rating: 3/10 (24 July 2011)

I have seen worse movie musicals, namely Xanadu, Can't Stop the Music and Mame, but as a fan of the genre I have seen far better as well. The colourful visuals are great and the songs(well it's the Beatles after all!) are wonderful. However, while I love the songs themselves I found myself left cold by the arrangements which were rather static and the singing which was often flat and lacking in heart and emotion.
The story is a mess in structure, too thin for the overlong running time, and like Mamma Mia! was more an excuse to interrupt the flow with constant singing and songs, with a number of scenes feeling more music video than a story for a movie musical. The script is tired and clichéd, the choreography dull, the romance rather stilted, the pace laboured and I found myself indifferent to all the characters, mainly because they are not written very well at all, with some not doing much to bring the story forward and some lacking in personality.
Evan Rachel Wood, Jim Sturgess and the supporting cast are talented and try hard, but the script, story and arrangements of the songs leave them not so much to work from, so they're either bland or wasted, excepting Dana Fuchs whose singing is wonderful and she is a breath of fresh air as well. All in all, great visuals, songs and one good performance are not enough to save a messy story. 3/10 Bethany Cox