Having enjoyed EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert, I thought I would embrace the chance to watch another music documentary. I have never been the biggest Beatles fan and only knew a couple of John Lennon’s songs so I went into this film as pretty much an outsider. The documentary follows John and Yoko as they play at Madison Square Garden during two concerts.
Unlike EPiC, there isn't any build up beside watching them walk towards the stage. It seemed a bit strange at first that there wasn't some sort of introduction to the events but in the context of the entire documentary it worked. The songs are well performed and there is something enjoyable seeing songs performed live because you get it in a slightly different way to how they would be on vinyl or cd or whatever. Having never seen Lennon perform, especially solo, it impressed me how unflashy he was and how self-deprecating he was.
I also like the way that the film was essentially in three blocks with the images constantly changing but I didn't find it distracting. I knew that my attention could switch to any of the blocks and I wouldn't miss what was happening and still got a great sense of the whole concert. Despite this there is a massive issue with this documentary and it is with Yoko Ono perhaps not that surprising. I didn't think I could find someone worse than Gal Gadot’s attempt at singing in Snow White but up steps Yoko Ono. I had never heard her sing before and was told by a friend that her singing is terrible but this was on another level of terrible. By about the third song I said ‘Oh No’ loud enough that my friend heard me and it made him chuckle. The only time she made any sense was when she was reading the words supposedly said by Hitler. John Lennon really must have loved Yoko Ono because that is the only reason that he would have allowed her to be within a mile of a microphone. She seems to play the keyboard well enough but singing was a big fail.
I don't think that this was as good as EPic but I still think that it was enjoyable. It seemed like it was a great concert to be a part of and obviously it was done for a good cause but this is the first time that I can genuinely put the negatives of a film down to one person and that in this case is Yoko Ono. These sorts of documentaries are becoming more popular because they allow you to see and hear your favourite artists and bands on the largest screen and on the best sound system around and far better than any of us have at home. Even if I am not a fan of their music, if it gets people into the cinema then it can only be a good thing. Especially with the way cinema is in 2026.
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