Title: Yesterday
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Director: Danny Boyle
Starring: Himesh Patel, Lily James, Kate McKinnon
Runtime: 1 hr 56 mins

What It Is: Jack Malik (Patel) is a struggling sing-songwriter. His only real fans are his friend/manager Ellie (James) and Jack’s parents. After an incident which leaves Jack hospitalized coincides with a worldwide blackout suddenly certain things that once existed no longer exist. One of those things is The Beatles. Jack, still remembers them though and decides that this music deserves remembering. So he goes out and starts playing all of the Fab Fives biggest hits, but how long can he keep it up?

What We Think: So this is a film written on actual tissue. It’s THAT paper-thin. This is for all it’s wonderful songs such a one-note narrative that it just isn’t good enough. When you have full run with the songs of The Beatles. It relies far too much on those amazing songs. Himesh Patel is good and Lily James, for me, is always really good. How is this film almost two hours? It’s almost puzzling that this is the case here. A thin script, bad dialogue, and an over-reliance on its niche premise all lend to a truly disappointing story being told here.

Our Grade: C-, What an utter disappointment! When I’d first heard about this project I was super excited. Think about it. A Danny Boyle film about a guy who tries to reintroduce the world to The Beatles. This should’ve been some sort of bombastic musical sensation. Instead, it’s a bland comedy that falters more then it soars. A truly wasteful display of the talent here. When the best part of the film is the soundtrack, and said soundtrack is the best part, there’s something lacking. It’s almost like Bohemian Rhapsody in that way and that is sadly not a good comparison.