Enjoyable, but lacking

Rating: 6/10 (5 July 2019)

I was extremely impressed with Himesh Patel's lead performance, Lily James is always nice to see and of course we all love the Beatles' music. But other than those things, I'm probably not going to remember much about this film.

The romantic problems between James and Patel's characters seemed as if they were more appropriate for people who are in their late teens, not thirty year olds. The way that they interacted with each other seemed downright bizarre for older people, and that subplot seemed to branch into several directions that just didn't interest me.

I was also disappointed with the things that randomly disappeared from Patel's new world in addition to The Beatles. Bill Maher said, "Ronald Reagan didn't destroy the Soviet Union. The Beatles destroyed it." When it's revealed that a band that was extremely popular in the '90s and massively influenced by The Beatles disappeared, I thought that director Danny Boyle was going to show us things that would have happened without their influence. Instead, random things that have nothing to do with them are erased from his reality. Also, the Soviet Union dissolved regardless of their absence. :)
Kate McKinnon is funny, and I laughed at several of her lines as a talent manager. However, even her performance was a bit too goofy. I work in L.A.-- as much as I hate agents and managers, I realized that I've seen three films this year ("Stan and Ollie," "Rocketman," and this film) in which they are depicted as a bit too evil... even for them.
In terms of Boyle's oeuvre, it's like his Trainspotting sequel: I liked it. I didn't love it. However, unlike T2, I won't rewatch this film.