When It Works, It's Magical (And When it Doesn't, It's Still Cool)

Rating: 7/10 (17 October 2007)

Across the Universe does several things gloriously. First and foremost, it tells an archetypal love story (that is, a love story that is intended to be familiar and universal, not novel and quirky) and makes it incredibly moving by doing it as a musical using many of the best Beatles songs (more about that later). It's visually stunning and features some of the most audacious, jaw-dropping choreography to come out of Hollywood in years. And it paints a very solid picture of the political unrest and psychedelic exploration that fueled the 60's.
It's in the latter sequences where the movie sometimes misfires slightly. The straightforward Beatles love songs are almost always complete successes. The problem comes when the script tries to incorporate the tripper songs from their psychedelic period ("Strawberry Fields," "I am the Walrus," "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite"). These lyrics aren't really about anything the way "It Won't Be Long" or "I Want to Hold Your Hand" are, and the scenes built around them (while wildly inventive and entertaining if regarded in isolation) come across as slightly forced and/or bring the plot to a halt.
The music? I'm a former rock critic who owns nearly 2000 CDs, none by the Beatles. It's not that I don't think they're great, it's just that these songs have been so overplayed, I really feel no need to hear them again. The versions here are almost uniformly terrific and serve as incredible reminders of just how great these songs are. If you're someone of my generation who acknowledges that "Hey Jude" is a brilliant song but is just plain bored by it after the 1000th listening, run to the theater, because hearing it here is like hearing it for the first time (maybe better, since it's embedded in a love story that, by this point in the film, has really grabbed you). And if you want to know whether a film critic can be trusted with movie music, see if they hated the music here but loved the music in "Dreamgirls": if so, they're musically illiterate.
8/10 (and I'm a tough grader: that means I loved it and endorse it without reservation).