Director Julie Taymor knows how to impress.

Having worked on films such as Frida and spectacular Broadway productions like “The Lion King,” Taymor aimed to give the same kind of spectacle with her newest creation, the silver-screen musical Across the Universe.

Universe is one of several musicals to be released this year, continuing in a genre that seems to be growing more popular each year, beginning with 2001’s Moulin Rouge. The film molds together the music of the Beatles with the always popular and ever cliché ’60s coming-of-age genre.

Jim Sturgess makes his big-screen debut as British dockworker Jude, who leaves his home and his girlfriend behind to try and find his biological father in the United States. While in the states, he meets Maxwell (Joe Anderson, Becoming Jane) at Princeton and his sister Lucy (Evan Rachel Wood, Running With Scissors).

Max and Jude become friends and head to New York, eventually joined by Lucy, whose boyfriend dies in Vietnam.

Prudence (T.V. Carpio, She Hate Me), a lesbian and former cheerleader from Ohio, joins up with the group in New York when she climbs in through the others’ bathroom window.
The movie follows the characters as they each confront their own problems and relationships and deal with in a tumultuous period when riots, protests and drafts related to both the Civil Rights movement and Vietnam War protests were everyday occurances.

Many parts of this movie are visually spectacular; the scenes following a drug-induced trip are some of the most exciting in the movie. These scenes are accompanied by a performance of “I Am the Walrus” by Dr. Robert (U2’s Bono) and a rendition of “Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!” by Mr. Kite (comedian Eddie Izzard). The covers of “Hey Jude,” “Let it Be,” “I’ve Just Seen a Face” and “Come Together” are also well done.

Some numbers are not nearly as impressive.

The hokey “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” which Prudence sings while admiring another cheerleader she has feelings for, seems unnecessary and laughable-even more so as Prudence crosses the football field while football players tackle each other.

The early numbers “Hold Me Tight” and “It Won’t Be Long” might remind audiences a little too much of Hairspray or High School Musical, and “With a Little Help From My Friends,” performed by Max and his frat brothers, has a high cheese factor as well.

Prudence’s storyline generally seems as though it was thrown in to fit in more Beatles songs, and doesn’t fit well with the rest of the film.

The overall love story of the film is not particularly special-like a boring narrative people are all too familiar with.

Some numbers in Across the Universe seem rather forced; “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” and “Strawberry Fields Forever” are not bad vocally, but the visuals that accompany them are a little ridiculous.

A bunch of soldiers in their skivvies carrying the Statue of Liberty through the jungle and strawberries turning into bombs are clearly done to better match the song, as ridiculous as such things may seem.

Overall, the performances are well done, considering that all of the major players, save Wood, have only been in a few films. Sturgess handles the role of Jude exceedingly well, especially considering that his character is supposed to represent the Beatles in the form of one person.

Making a movie that runs over two hours using only Beatles songs to advance the storyline is a difficult task. Taymor has been ultimately successful, although Across the Universe may receive polar opinions-people who are not die-hard Beatles fans may be repelled by the film, while die-hard Beatles fans might have a problem with the way some of their favorites are approached.

The music selection in the movie seems odd at times, with most of the songs comeing from the albums Abbey Road and The White Album, a few come from albums A Hard Day’s Night and Help! and none are taken from Please Please Me. This is probably to emphasize the Beatles in their experimenting years, where their music was more trippy and less pop sounding.

Fine performances and visuals aside, Universe is one movie that leaves it up to the individual to make the final verdict.