Brightlyme i know i wasted 90 mins of my life.

Dynamixor The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

ThedevilChoose When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

Mischa Redfern I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

hunter-friesen Beyond the Sea is a passion project Kevin Spacey has been trying to make for years. Here he finally gets the chance to tell the life story of legendary singer Bobby Darin. Acting as both the star and the director, Spacey gives tells us the story of Darin from his childhood years all the way to his untimely death at a young age. While Spacey is the perfect actor to portray Darin, he isn't the best director for the film, making many poor choices in terms of storytelling and plot structure. The story of Beyond the Sea starts with Bobby Darin trying to make a feature film about his own life. The only problem is that he's a perfectionist with a temper when something doesn't go the way he wants it. Darin is approached by the actor playing his younger self and is told that the film is all wrong and that he needs to start from the very beginning to tell his story. From this point, we learn about Darin's ill childhood and how he was inspired by his grandmother to have a career in music. We then follow his rise from a small town hit to a teen music icon with the hit "Splish Splash." Darin is now a star and goes into movies, falling in love with his soon to be wife, Sandra Dee. This is where we start to see the fall of an idol as Darin lets his dream of being the world's biggest star consume him and everyone around. The plot unfolds differently because of the film within a film element Spacey uses. Darin recounts his life story to the audience, intercutting between the past, present, and future. The choice to tell the story this way is the biggest detriment to the film. It's actually pretty confusing chronologically when things are happening. The film within a film element is presented at the beginning of the film but is merely alluded to throughout which makes the timeline vague and confusing. We don't really know which parts of the plot are part of the fictional film or the real film. There is also the presentation of a child actor playing Darin as a kid in the film, but he also acts as a part of Darin's mind, almost like a vision that interacts with him. The kid's part in the film is also pretty confusing and is an element that is unneeded to tell the story. The music here is excellent as we listen to the career hits of Darin. Spacey is a great singer and practically sings every song better than Darin himself. Most songs are done in a sequence on stage or in a kind of music video format. The production that went into each song paid off very well as the choreography, scenery, and costumes are superb. Highlights include "Splish Splash", "Beyond the Sea", and "Simple Song of Freedom". The acting is the biggest draw of the film, especially Kevin Spacey in the lead role. Spacey was perfectly cast as he uses his immense talent as both an actor and singer to capture Darin's life. The only negative from his casting is that Spacey is a 45-year-old trying to play a rising star in their early 20's. Spacey definitely looks older than he should, but it's not a big distraction as he is the only person who could portray Darin this well. Kate Bosworth is also good as his wife and actress Sandra Dee. We see her character arc evolve as she goes from a young emerging actress to a wife stuck in a dilemma between her family and career. A supporting role by Bob Hoskins is also a pleasant watch as he assumes the role of Darin's father figure. John Goodman slots in with a small supporting role, but doesn't add anything new or exciting to the overall story. While his role isn't well written or directed, William Ullrich as Darin's younger self is quite enjoyable to watch as he sings and dances with immense talent.Beyond the Sea is a well acted, but poorly directed film that tries too hard to distance itself from other biopic films. The amazing song and dance numbers can't hide a dreadfully constructed plot that is confusing to follow and hard to enjoy. Kevin Spacey still has a gleaming career as an actor left for him and he should stick solely to that before his work as a director gets him in trouble.

Elias Christo (eliasjchristo) Spacey's passion project, "Beyond the Sea", does its job as a biopic in that it does tell the story of Darin's remarkable life. Spacey himself is absolutely outstanding, despite the age gap between himself and the real life Bobby Darin, he still plays the part to perfection. His performance is even further solidified as one of his best when he showcases his impressive singing ability with a voice that really sounds an awful lot like Darin's. Spacey captures, magnificently, Spacey's showmanship on-stage and actions off it. Kate Bosworth, John Goodman, and the rest of the supporting cast also are fantastic in their roles. Now for my only gripe- the directing. This is why I checked the "contains spoiler" box, because this may constitute a spoiler. The story is told out of order as a biopic within a show and this all gets muddled quickly. I would have loved to see the same story of Darin, for his is a life worth knowing, told by a more experienced director than Spacey. However, once the actual storytelling gets told and we start moving chronologically, Darin's life is told very well including every detail making for an entertaining movie. In the end, yes I enjoyed "Beyond the Sea" and yes I will see it again! I would say it is a must-see for any fan of Bobby Darin or even just a fan of Kevin Spacey

Desertman84 Kevin Spacey is best known for playing pyschopaths and a creep in mid- life crisis but surprisingly,he plays crooner Bobby Darin.He does some snappy dancing and top-notch singing. Beyond the Sea puts Darin's life through a bit of a kaleidoscope. Spacey, who stars in the lead role and used his own singing voice for the musical numbers, co-wrote, directed, and co-produced the film, which takes its title from the Darin song of the same name. It depicts Darin's rise to teen idol success in both the music and film industry during the 1950's and 60's, as well as his marriage to Sandra Dee, portrayed by Kate Bosworth. John Goodman, Bob Hoskins, Brenda Blethyn and Greta Sacchi co-star.Born Bobby Cassotto and raised in the Bronx, young Bobby was raised by his mother, Polly, his brother-in-law, Charlie, and his sister, Nina. At the age of 15, Bobby contracted a severe case of rheumatic fever, which was expected to take his life; while it left him with a weak heart, Bobby beat the odds and survived. Buoyed by a love of music passed along by his mother, Bobby learned to play several instruments and began singing as he recovered. Displaying a confidence and drive which stopped just short of arrogance, he adopted the stage name Bobby Darin and set his sights on becoming a star. After a string of hits as a rock & roll singer, Darin takes another gamble, and with the help of manager Steve Blauner he reinvents himself as a supper-club vocalist in the manner of Frank Sinatra. All the more remarkably, he succeeds, and his swinging version of "Mack the Knife" tops the charts. Now a major singing star, Darin decides to take up acting; on the set of his first movie, he woos his female co-star Sandra Dee, and despite the stern objections of her mother, Bobby and Sandra wed. But after a string of successful movies for Dee and hit records and an Oscar nomination for Darin, the shifting tastes of the 1960's throw their careers off-track. Bobby cautiously embraces the new sounds of the day, but his old fans don't want to hear him cover Bob Dylan or the Rolling Stones, while the younger audience isn't interested in his new sound, leaving Darin in a difficult place to make his way back to stardom.Many people under 40 may not even remember Bobby Darin, let alone know about his remarkable life story. Beyond the Sea may rectify that problem and stand as a wonderful tribute to an amazing talent who left us all too soon.It is a heartfelt gem, so earnest, so joyful and so celebratory of Bobby Darin's spirit that the movie's flaws or embarrassments are completely irrelevant.Also,Kevin Spacey the actor makes up for his directorial effort.While Kate Bosworth is superb as Darin's charming wife Sandra Dee.Overall,it a good biofilm.

classicsoncall When I was entering my teenage years, the Beatles were hitting the U.S. at around the same time. I didn't connect with Bobby Darin's music back then, even though 'Mack the Knife' had a ubiquitous presence on Top 40 radio, even after it's release in 1959. Today, 'Beyond the Sea' stands as one of my all time favorite tunes, and listening to Bobby Darin singing his hit songs again is almost like hearing them for the first time. Director and star Kevin Spacey takes a unique approach in presenting the life of Bobby Darin on the big screen, and to a large extent he's successful. I too had my doubts about Spacey's age in some of the early career sequences, but they were largely dispelled by the creative way Spacey draws attention to that fact early on, using his youthful alter-ego (William Ullrich) to counter point the elder Darin's paranoid tendencies. What the film probably does best is impart Darin's sense of urgency in establishing his legacy, knowing that his rheumatic heart condition meant living on borrowed time. Yes, there's a rushed feel to the romancing of Sandra Dee (Kate Bosworth) and the overview of Darin's rise to the top of his profession, but there's only so much you can do in a film. When it was over, you couldn't have convinced me that it was two and a half hours long. Punctuated by most of Darin's hit songs, the only one I was left wanting for was 'Eighteen Yellow Roses', especially after that tease during the night club scene when the camera panned by a couple of vases drawing almost subliminal attention to it. But a small price to pay over all. I enjoyed the film and now have a firmer appreciation of the price Bobby Darin had to pay for his career success. It's a film I'd recommend and will likely watch over again.