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Across the Universe
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Metascore
56 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 29 Critics What's this?

User Score
7.3 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 202 Ratings

Your Score
10 out of 10
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  • Starring: Evan Rachel Wood, Jim Sturgess
  • Summary: Across the Universe is a love story set against the backdrop of the 1960s amid the turbulent years of antiwar protest, mind exploration, and rock and roll. The film moves from the dockyards of Liverpool and the creative psychedelia of Greenwich Village to the riot-torn streets of Detroit and the killing fields of Vietnam. The star-crossed lovers, Jude and Lucy are swept up into the emerging antiwar-counterculture movements. They are also joined by a small group of friends and musicians, with "Dr. Robert" and "Mr. Kite" as their guides. Tumultuous forces outside their control ultimately tear the young lovers apart, forcing Jude and Lucy--against all odds--to find their own way back to each other. (Columbia Pictures)… Expand

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 18 out of 29
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 29
  3. Negative: 4 out of 29
  1. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    100
    Here is a bold, beautiful, visually enchanting musical where we walk INTO the theater humming the songs.
  2. Baltimore Sun
    Reviewed by: Michael Sragow
    58
    Disarming, discombobulating and disappointing.
  3. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Ty Burr
    38
    Hobbled by its vaguely insulting comic-book version of the '60s and by a humorlessness that can only come from talented people convinced they're creating work for the ages.

See all 29 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 89 out of 128
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 128
  3. Negative: 31 out of 128
  1. MattK.
    10
    A wonderful movie with some of the Beatles' best hits. It was all put together really well, with a dynamic storyline encompassing all of the seemingly random characters of the movie into one, moving plot. I loved this movie and even sang along to some of my favourite songs. Plus the cameos were pretty cool (Look out for Bono and Selma Hayek).… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  2. NoahT.
    5
    I have a confession to make: I do not like Julie Taymor. I have never enjoyed her films, I have never found her to be talented or competent when dealing with a cast and I have always had the distinct impression that she simply wants to pat herself on the back for making all those pretty pictures. Well, I'm glad to say that with this movie, Taymor has moved up in my mind from terrible to...meh. Overall, ACROSS THE UNIVERSE is nothing special. We've all seen it before: psychedelia in musicals, musicals based on a band's songs, and of course the cross-continental love story. Where Julie Taymor really drops the ball is with the songs that she uses. Despite boasting 31 classic Beatles tracks, it seems like too much of an overload. The story is awful, and it appears to be grafted on to fit the songs, and some songs aren't even relevant to the overall story ("Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!", "I am the Walrus", "I Wanna Hold your Hand" just to name a few). The cast is poorly-directed and it's a shame too, because the dialogue is excellent and could have been even better with some solid performances. Overall, skip this and watch MOULIN ROUGE instead.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  3. GregP.
    3
    What the movie suffered from most was neither the weak treatment of 60's culture nor the poor tribute to the Beatles. What it suffered most from was the nagging sensation that almost every named character and almost every scene was a mere contrivance to "force" a scene out of a particular set of lyrics. For those who have seen the movie, the absolutely pasted-on "Dear Prudence" (not to mention the namesake character herself) scene is made bearable only by comparison to the absolute nonsense that was "Strawberry Fields Forever." The events leading up to and surrounding such scenes are such a cobbled-together mess of an excuse that the movie becomes absolutely painful.… Expand
    • 2 of 2 users said yes

See all 128 User Reviews

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