I loved Across the Universe in theaters, and loved it. However, I'm also a huge Beatles fan, and I was tripping (don't remember if it was mushrooms or acid) when I saw it first, so that probably made me even more biased.

However, every time I've watched it sense, I've liked it less, to the point where the last time I saw it, I hated it. The story just seems so forced in order to fit with all the music. Especially Prudence. Her only purpose in the movie is for the characters to sing Dear Prudence at some point.

It just doesn't really stand on its own at all. But there are some brilliant-sounding covers (Let it Be, Joe Cocker's Come Together, While My Guitar Gently Weeps). And I can't fault it too much, as it's how I was introduced to one of my favorite bands, the Secret Machines (who did the covers of Blue Jay Way and Flying, both heard briefly in the movie but included in their entirety on the soundtrack album, and they did the music behind Bono's I Am the Walrus cover).