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Across the UniverseMovie Reviews

Poster art for "Across the Universe."
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Metascore®56 out of 100 | Mixed or average reviews

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

  • 100
    Chicago Sun-Times | Roger Ebert

    Here is a bold, beautiful, visually enchanting musical where we walk INTO the theater humming the songs. Read full review

  • 80
    The New York Times | Stephen Holden

    Somewhere around its midpoint, Across the Universe captured my heart, and I realized that falling in love with a movie is like falling in love with another person. Imperfections, however glaring, become endearing quirks once you’ve tumbled. Read full review

  • 75
    Chicago Tribune | Jessica Reaves

    If you're a Beatles fan who's not offended by people taking serious liberties with the arrangements of your favorite songs, the unrepentantly exuberant and seriously tuneful Across the Universe is pretty much a sure thing. Read full review

  • 70
    Variety | Justin Chang

    All you need is love -- for the Beatles, for psychedelic visuals, for ideas about being young in the ‘60s -- to fully enjoy Across the Universe. Read full review

  • 67
    The Onion (A.V. Club) | Tasha Robinson

    It's all very clever and thought-through, but all the allusions don't much bolster the bland central romance or the paper-thin treatment of '60s social issues. Read full review

  • 63
    USA Today | Claudia Puig

    While style trumps substance, something in the way this '60s tribute moves attracts us. Read full review

  • 50
    The Hollywood Reporter | Stephen Farber

    Julie Taymor's visual gifts are very much in evidence in Across the Universe, an ambitious, only partly successful attempt to reinvigorate the musical genre. Read full review

  • 50
    Village Voice | Ella Taylor

    Across the Universe, which filters the cultural revolt through a blizzard of early Beatles songs, ends up both reductive and smugly condescending to a presumptively know-nothing audience. Read full review

  • 50
    ReelViews | James Berardinelli

    Elements of Across the Universe are shockingly awful and the film lasts at least 30 minutes past the bearable stage. But if you like the Beatles and the idea of hearing about 20 covers of their work fills you with a perverse joy, this may be the movie for you. Read full review

  • 42
    Entertainment Weekly | Owen Gleiberman

    Goofy, pompous, annoyingly boomer-myopic Fab Four musical. Read full review