The Beatles already survived one attempt by Hollywood to turn them into kitsch -- 1978's infamous Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band -- and so you have to wonder what they did to deserve Across the Universe.

| Original Score: C- | Sep 7, 2011

It's more than a nostalgia trip. The real pleasure lies in Taymor's ability to make it all seem brand new.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Nov 2, 2007

...the long and winding road that is Julie Taymor's opulent, eye-filling, and disappointingly uninvolving musical extravaganza...

| Oct 19, 2007

Across the Universe will have ardent defenders, but in the long run, it will do nothing to infuse life into the current minirevival of movie musicals and is as soft-headed as the wishful refrain All You Need Is Love.

| Original Score: 1/5 | Oct 6, 2007

Across the Universe isn't beholden to any stage incarnation. It owes its vision to the vibrant imagination of its director, who created a musical that reminds us how cultural-political events can change our tune.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Oct 5, 2007

[A] visionary attempt to wed a story of young love and 1960s war protest to the Lennon-McCartney catalog.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Oct 3, 2007

You feel, after two hours and a bit, that the Beatles deserve better and the Sixties a more defiant touch.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Sep 29, 2007

The film's too long but when it works, as in a slickly choreographed military induction scene with Taymor's trademark giant puppets and carnival heads, it's exhilarating.

| Sep 29, 2007

This is like watching a car-crash in slow motion.

| Original Score: 1/5 | Sep 29, 2007

Across the Universe is much too literal-minded to be the far-out, visionary folly she may have intended - not so much cinema on LSD as the ravings of an earnest hippie in a recovery programme.

| Sep 28, 2007

After two hours of butchered classics, it's just a relief when it's over.

| Original Score: 1/5 | Sep 28, 2007

The more this musical tried to look relevant, the more dated it felt.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Sep 28, 2007

Thankfully, Sturgess keeps the film grounded with a rumpled, earthy charm, and Wood brings much-needed emotional depth. And yes, the songs will strike a chord as well.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Sep 28, 2007

...Julie Taymor's rhapsodic mash note to John, Paul, George and Ringo falls just short of breathtaking.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Sep 28, 2007

Across the Universe is a classic example of ambition exceeding execution.

| Original Score: C | Sep 28, 2007

Most of the songs are performed in such saccharine style and staged so literally that they almost seem like they belong in a Broadway show. That's a very bad thing.

Full Review | Original Score: 1/4 | Sep 28, 2007

Good casting and the wonderful strangeness of Taymor's vision means that this movie is great fun.

Full Review | Sep 28, 2007

Taymor has mistaken a deeply clichd view of the late '60s for a radical slice of the zeitgeist. Let it be.

| Original Score: 1/6 | Sep 28, 2007

A load of kids singing Beatles tunes? You better believe it.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Sep 28, 2007

There's a lot of great stuff here, but it just doesn't come together.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Sep 27, 2007