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The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004)

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Top Critics

Average Rating: 6/10
Reviews Counted: 175
Fresh: 93 | Rotten: 82

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou is getting soaked by many critics, who call it smug, ironic and artificial. Still, others have praised the movie's sheer uniqueness, eccentricity and whimsy.

Average Rating: 5.7/10
Critic Reviews: 37
Fresh: 19 | Rotten: 18

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou is getting soaked by many critics, who call it smug, ironic and artificial. Still, others have praised the movie's sheer uniqueness, eccentricity and whimsy.

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Average Rating: 3.4/5
User Ratings: 182,948

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Movie Info

The first effort from director Wes Anderson since his critically beloved The Royal Tenenbaums, The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou finds the filmmaker re-teaming with a number of familiar faces, including Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Anjelica Huston, and Seymour Cassel. Murray plays Steve Zissou, an eccentric and renowned oceanographer who has decided to seek out and enact mortal revenge on a shark that ate one of the men on his team. Along for the ride is Ned Plimpton (Owen Wilson), a young man who

R, 1 hr. 58 min.

Drama, Action & Adventure, Comedy

Directed By: Wes Anderson

Written By: Wes Anderson, Noah Baumbach

In Theaters: Dec 10, 2004 Wide

On DVD: Apr 26, 2005

Box Office:$24.0M

Buena Vista

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou Trailer & Photos

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Cast

Bill Murray
Steve Zissou
Owen Wilson
Ned Plimpton
Cate Blanchett
Jane Winslett-Richardso...
Anjelica Huston
Eleanor Zissou
Willem Dafoe
Klaus Daimler
Jeff Goldblum
Alistair Hennessy
Michael Gambon
Oseary Drakoulias
Bud Cort
Bill Ubell
Seu Jorge
Pele dos Santos
Seymour Cassel
Esteban du Plantier
Peter Stormare
Noah Taylor
Wallace Wolodarsky
Robyn Cohen
Matthew Gray Gubler
Intern

Critic Reviews for The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou

All Critics (190) | Top Critics (39) | Fresh (101) | Rotten (85) | DVD (42)

A little too laid-back for its own good.

February 3, 2005 Full Review Source: New York Observer

| Comments (3)

Andrew Sarris

New York Observer

Top Critic

It is heartening to reflect that the best of Bill Murray may be yet to come.

January 15, 2005 Comments (3)

Anthony Lane

New Yorker

Top Critic

The film is often quite funny.

January 11, 2005 Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle

| Comment

Mick LaSalle

San Francisco Chronicle

Top Critic

Full of [Wes Anderson's] many trademark flourishes.

December 27, 2004 Full Review Source: CNN.com

| Comment

(CNN.com) Paul Clinton

CNN.com

Top Critic

It's one of the great mysteries of contemporary Hollywood that a talent as sideways as Wes Anderson gets bankrolled by a major, and not famously risky, studio like Disney.

December 24, 2004 Full Review Source: Toronto Star

| Comment

Geoff Pevere

Toronto Star

Top Critic

This movie is so odd, so uncommercial and so unformulaic, particularly for something produced by a major studio (Disney, in this case), that I can't imagine how Anderson got his idea for it past the front office and in front of cameras.

December 24, 2004 Full Review Source: Sacramento Bee

| Comment

Joe Baltake

Sacramento Bee

Top Critic

Wes Anderson creates a highly stylized and peculiar world, which either works for you or it doesn't. It works for me beautifully...

September 24, 2007 Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com

| Comment

Rob Gonsalves

eFilmCritic.com

full review in Greek

October 3, 2006 Full Review Source: Movies for the Masses

| Comments (2)

Joseph Proimakis

Movies for the Masses

Anderson reminds one of an athlete who was brought into the pros at too early of an age. He has spurts of great talent, but lacks the discipline or practiced skills needed to deliver quality work with consistency.

July 20, 2006 Full Review Source: Movie City News

| Comment

Douglas Pratt

Movie City News

A film I'll be able to return in years hence and have lovely waves of happiness wash over me.

June 28, 2006 Full Review Source: Cinemania

| Comment

Dan Jardine

Cinemania

magnificent display of talents not weaved into coherent story

August 31, 2005 Full Review Source: Draxblog Movie Reviews

| Comment

Dragan Antulov

Draxblog Movie Reviews Source: Draxblog Movie Reviews

Has a quiet comical edginess that reflects the poignancy of the situation and the characters.

August 14, 2005 Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews

| Comment

Dennis Schwartz

Ozus' World Movie Reviews

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Audience Reviews for The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou

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Unique and infused with Wes Anderson's typicla techniques, The Life Aquatic is an eccentric dramedy featuring on one Bill Murray's greatest performances.

January 17, 2012

Tyler Christian

Super Reviewer

I found that The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou was fairly flawed but decent comedy nonetheless. Director Wes Anderson directs this whimsical comedy and does a fairly decent job at delivering a good little film. Some may hate this film, and though I found things that I didn't enjoy about the film, for what it was The

December 15, 2011

Jeff "The Dude" Lebowski

Super Reviewer

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou Quotes

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1. Bill Ubell: No Captain! That's Cedric. He's a friend.
2. Steve Zissou: Merci, Cedric. Remind me, we'll send him a red cap and a Speedo.
– Submitted by Diana L (14 days ago)
1. Steve Zissou: Son of a bitch, I'm sick of these dolphins.
– Submitted by Patrick F (16 days ago)
1. Steve Zissou: Bulldykes can get pregnant.
– Submitted by Bill C (25 days ago)
1. Ned Plimpton: P.S. Do you ever wish you could breathe underwater?
– Submitted by Mettie O (3 months ago)
1. Steve Zissou: This is an adventure.
– Submitted by Nick S (9 months ago)

Character	Quote
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