Very uneven but OK (and a HUGE gyp, explained)

Rating: 4/10 (5 October 2019)

Like some others have said here, the premise of "Yesterday" is fantastic. The execution, however, is nowhere near as good as it could have been.
Of course, the plot where everyone in the world forgets who The Beatles are ( as well as Oasis, Coca-Cola and cigarettes) so Jack "writes" their songs and becomes a huge star, is creative and fun. The film though, is overlong, drags on in spots, and could use some severe tightening up.
The stars of the film are likeable enough (Jack's roadie friend is a particular scene-stealer) but the film is kind of like a cheap junk food treat - tastes kind of good, but has a lot of air in it.
Jack's rise to the top singing Beatles songs is done fairly decently, but there are just so many scenes with unneeded dialogue and dead space that the film becomes really dull and tiresome in certain spots.
Ed Sheeran is also in it a lot as himself - how the heck is this guy arguably the biggest music star in the world right now? In the film he's as flat as a pancake, no charisma or personality whatsoever.
It definitely helps if you are a Beatles fan, as you'll see and listen to clever nods to the group in various scenes. Plus, Jack's versions of their songs are all pretty decent. However, the film won't knock you out and is not as good as the trailer. If you don't expect much though, you can have a relatively pleasant viewing, but you'll never watch it again.
NOT REALLY A SPOILER involved something in the trailer. This is the "huge gyp" I was talking about above in the subject line. There was a certain scene in the trailer that looked to be a MAJOR part of the film, and is a major "this will help get people into the theater" scene. However, while the scene is in the movie, it's not exactly what it seems. Therefore, the scene is a gigantic fraud (just like Jack in the movie), with absolutely zero payoff. This actually angered me as this was the scene I was looking forward to the most, but it meant absolutely nothing and led to absolutely nothing. This part of the trailer was a complete scam.
Another rip-off was another scene in the trailer, in the same setting as the "gyp" scene, that never made the final cut. It's in the deleted scenes on the DVD, and it's a great scene. Why did they delete it? It's really SOMETHING.