Very Good but Had the Potential for Excellence

Rating: 8/10 (16 February 2008)

I grew up watching musicals. "Oklahoma", "Singing in the Rain", "West Side Story"... These were great films with great stories and great musical performances. They tended to be on the longer side, but no one noticed while watching, because everyone was transfixed on the film. The fact that so many folks have praised "Across the Universe" in their reviews indicates that musicals, with quality production, could make a magnificent comeback.
The music and the visuals were wonderful. I especially enjoyed T.V. Carpio's rendition of "I Want To Hold Your Hand" and Joe Cocker and company with "Come Together". The choreography as a whole was excellent! More than once, I found myself singing along.
For me, the music sequences were able to sustain an otherwise ridiculous storyline that reminded me of 1978's "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart Club Band" or 1980's "Xanadu". In the case of "Across the Universe", the plot is haphazardly shaped around the lyrics of many Beatles' songs. There is (Sexy) Sadie and (Dear) Prudence, JoJo (Get Back) and (Hey) Jude, and even Lucy (In the Sky With Diamonds). It's all fun, sure, but the script lacks any serious creativity. The story's backdrop seemed to me an attempt at Forrest Gump meets "John, Paul, George, and Ringo". For me, it just didn't work as planned. About 30-45 minutes out from the end you start looking at your watch, but the finale leaves a very pleasant taste that lingers well after the credits have finished rolling.
I would love to experience this film in an Imax as so much of it is an amazing combination of sight and sound. It could have been a masterpiece, but is still very good.