Across the Universe does for The Beatles what Mama Mia did for ABBA. A collection of 34 Beatles songs play over the lives of some young adults as the sixties revolutionises the world around them. Liverpudlian (Hey) Jude meets college drop out Max (wells Silver Hammer) and falls for his sister Lucy (in the Sky with Diamonds), along the way meeting the likes of (Dear) Prudence and (Sexy) Sadie. The film is full of terrible references to the entire body of The Beatles work that all fail to get the desired effect. The films representation of the sixties is done from the point of view of a modern day American; too distant to be accurate. The attempts at dealing with the likes of flower power feel uneducated and distant, but even the little things, like a fridge in an English terraced house are just out of place. However, the songs are the saving grace. Many lack subtlety I Want You uses the Statue of Liberty for the Shes So Heavy segment but they make the characters interesting, with the actors competently covering the classic songs. The final song, All You Need Love, may be an imperfect sequence, mimicking The Beatles final rooftop performance, but for once the song matches the movies desired tone. To not feel a sense of joy when Lucy and Jude are finally reunited brings to question your ability to feel emotion at all.