A fantastic idea, squandered

Rating: 7/10 (24 February 2020)

I'd like to wake up in an alternate universe where no one had ever seen this movie, so I could re-make it completely with the original premise and turn it into an all-time classic.
It's a good movie, it really is. I enjoyed it, and it was so sweet I actually feel kinda bad for saying anything negative about it. But I've never seen a movie before during which I second-guessed the writing choices so often and so vigorously.
The first half is very well-done. Everything leading up to the point that Jack goes to L.A. to make his record is quite on-point and really builds the excitement for the second half. I was giddy as a little girl at Disneyland when I THOUGHT I realized where the movie was heading. When Jack was in his room assembling all those Beatles songs from memory, I wanted to shout the lyrics at him through the screen so we could move on to the shining, wonderful second half, in which Jack Malik becomes the greatest musical superstar in history and has amazing adventures.
But it comes on you slowly. You're watching, and waiting, and then you suddenly realize - "Oh. They're doing this instead."
I'm giving it 7 stars because I love the Beatles and I liked the movie. But it could EASILY have been a 10 with better plot choices.