They could have done SO much more with this

Rating: 6/10 (22 November 2019)

I agree with some other reviewers that the film makers took a brilliant and highly original premise and didn't sufficiently run with it. For example, they could have eliminated the romantic sub-plot entirely (cute as it was, it was formulaic and has already been done to death in film). It would have been more intriguing if, instead, they could have used that time to have Jack go on his own personal quest to find Lennon and McCartney. That could have been his reason for going to Liverpool, and it would have made his eventual meeting with Lennon that much more powerful. As it actually played out, it seemed more like an incidental "throwaway" scene.
I had high hopes at the very beginning, but as the film wore on and it was clear that it was going in the classic romcom direction, I became increasingly more disappointed. What a shame.
**UPDATE** I just read this from the Trivia section:
The original story for the movie was written by Jack Barth. It was much darker in tone, with the main character struggling as a musician in the new timeline and the premise of the alternate universe explored in more depth. When Richard Curtis did a rewrite, he made the tone much more lighthearted, put less emphasis on the premise of a new timeline without The Beatles, and more focus on romance between Jack and Ellie.
My only question is....WHY?? I would love to have seen Jack Barth's original treatment.