The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou

Listen, it isn't the most artsy film on earth. It doesn't have the richest plot ever. What it has is Bill Murray and Owen Wilson teaming up with Wes Anderson to portray a wonderful story. To like any of those three involved is to like this film. Definitely worth 2 hours out of any life, unless you'll be dying in less than 2 hours. This movie signifies the new way of storytelling for movies to come for years. The days of the old-fashioned drama starring a powerful actor, supported by wonderful character actors is over. To be a good movie anymore, the lead must have the capability to play more than himself in real life (i.e. Bruce Willis is always Bruce Willis). Bill Murray fits the mold perfectly, as he portrays the washed-up sea adventurer. Not to mention the wonderful cast around him, the best performance coming possibly from Willem Dafoe (who is great in every movie he's in).

My favorite Wes Anderson movie. Very funny. It is sweet and Bill Murray along with the rest of the cast (esp. Dafoe) does some of their best work. The soundtrack (David Bowie songs) is really inventive and Willem Dafoe is hysterical as is Jeff Goldblum. I think this movie will be Anderson's biggest financial hit because it stays true to his style but is also understandable by people who don't usually "get" his type of humor. I don't really know what that other guy is talking about when he says that it isn't very funny. I saw it in a 300 person packed theater and everyone laughed the whole way through.

Something for people who are politically minded to watch out for and pay attention to are the scenes involving the pirates who storm Zissou's ship. When the passengers are taken hostage, it is really unsettling, especially given the current situations overseas.

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou is a beautiful film. I'm ashamed to say that the first time I rented it I popped it out of the player after only a couple of minutes. I must have been in the mood for an action flick at the time. I gave the movie a second chance recently and was impressed by this film.

The actors are at the top of their form. Cate Blanchett's character is beautiful, pregnant, fiercely independent, and yet vulnerable. Murray is revealing how broad his range is once again. He shocked me with his talent in the remake of Hamlet, impressed me with Lost in Translation, and now somehow has combined the putz he often plays with an extremely complicated character that few other actors could manage.

The comedy is fantastically funny and is a fresh change from the 'Oh no, I plugged up the toilet' humor that has been so prevalent recently. It's still ludicrous at times and yet the viewer welcomes it and enjoys it.

Overall, I gave it a 9 out of 10. I highly recommend it and wait to see how Bill Murray will impress us in the future.

Billy Mintsopoulos

This Wes Anderson movie is very quirky but fans of Wes Anderson will not be disappointed. The movie is part a loving parody of Jacques Cousteau, part character study, with a lot of wit and understated acting. Beautifully shot, it is more complex and straightforward than some other Anderson movies, but still has a mesmerizing effect and grows on you upon repeated viewings. Justifiably a cult classic, it is perhaps not the best of Wes Anderson movies, but it is not the worst either, despite unjustly being panned by critics. If you have a functioning brain, give it a try.

I revisited this about a decade on from when I first watched it. Wes Anderson movies typically feel a little less interesting to me when I revisit them (so he's like the opposite of David Lynch or the Coen Brothers in that regard), so maybe that's why I had reservations about going back to this. But I'm happy to say that The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou worked even more for me a second time, and I think it's right up there as one of Anderson's best.

This might not be a popular opinion, but I feel like he's been pushing it with the artificiality too much in his recent films, to the point where I can't really engage with them emotionally. From a technical perspective, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Isle of Dogs, and The French Dispatch are all phenomenally well put together, meticulously crafted, and easy to appreciate when it comes to style/visuals. However, they just don't do it for me when it comes to feeling the film, or engaging with the characters. There's just a little too much detachment and/or too many characters. Maybe the films are too well put together. The human element that's apparent in his older films often feels missing.

With most of his stuff made before 2014, there's obviously that Wes Anderson style, but there's just a little more warmth and humanity. They're the right level of detached, to the point where they're not even really emotionally detached at the end of the day. His earlier films can be tremendously moving, and I think The Life Aquatic is a good example of that; the reality is heightened and the characters a little extreme, but not to the point where you detach emotionally. There's plenty of zaniness and quirky humour (not all of it perfect, but most of it works), but there's a heart to the whole thing, and I feel a similar way about The Royal Tenenbaums and maybe even Rushmore.

Maybe I miss the old Wes - I kind of love the old Wes, and I still appreciate the hell out of the new one, but something's missing. I fear the upcoming Asteroid City will be more new Wes than old Wes; it's like he keeps doubling down on it after it worked admittedly well in Grand Budapest Hotel.

Oh well. At least we'll always have Steve Zissou (the last 10-15 minutes of this also stands as the best sequence in Anderson's career so far, especially due to the perfect use of Sigur Ros).