The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou Reviews
Super Reviewer
Most of the time i liked Zissou's playful tone. It never takes itself too seriously and feels free from any possible limitations as a film. For the first time it also felt that Wes Anderson was not trying too much with his dialoque. His style can be seen each and every scene of the film and some of the compostions feel unnecessary visual tricks that just does not serve the story. Still it is a film that is pleasure to watch and listen.
I have noticed that i am not easiest person to make laugh in films but with Zissou there were moments that felt extremely hilarious and brilliant. I even laughed within couple of scenes. Thanks to wonderful chemistry between the fantastic ensemble cast that has names like Bill Murray, Willem Dafoe, Angelica Huston, Cate Blanchett, Owen Wilson, Michael Gambon and Jeff Goldblum in it. It is one of the most impressive casts that Anderson has brought together so far and some of the vrbal comedy is just genius.
Zissou combines comedy, drama, action, suspense, adventure and music with such an original effect that you have to admire Anderson's capability to hold it all together as well as he does. There are some minor flaws here and the biggest one of them is the film's lenght that is just too long. Zissou is a film that would have needed heavy trimming. Now it is two hours long at it takes it's time to really begin. With more editing it would be something much more coherent than it actually ends up being.
Zissou still stands as one of the best film from Wes Anderson and i can assure you that it is a experience you have never seen before.
Super Reviewer
What is true of all Wes Anderson's films is doubly true of this one. Emotionally wrenching dynamics handled blithely and cheeky sequences of deadpan humor abound in this film, and while I think Anderson's style works in most of his films, this film gets overbearingly laid-back. All of the performances are classic Anderson fare (with the exception of Owen Wilson whose accent changes from scene to scene), and the actors are certainly not to blame for the film's failures; rather, I think Anderson's style becomes more gimmicky in this film than it does in his other work. Whereas Darjeeling Limited was a film with unmistakable substance, the substance of this film is hidden beneath layers of Anderson schtick, and what Anderson is saying - a warning against the dangers of obsession and selfishness - only comes out in fits and starts.
Overall, I think this film is only for die-hard Anderson fans who delight in his schtick and have the patience to wait for the subject to be finally revealed.
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Good movie. The story seems bizarre and weird but it was still decent and at times funny. Bill Murray always does quirky and not so common characters in his movie roles and he always delivers quite good including here with a ravishing performance. Very good cast!
Steve Zissou, sea-film auteur a la Jacques Cousteau, has reason to be melancholy: his partner has been eaten, perhaps by a mythic jaguar shark, his wife may be taking up with her ex-husband, a young man appears claiming Steve is his father (Steve hates fathers), his most recent films have tanked, he's having trouble raising money for his venture to revenge his partner, and he's attracted to a pregnant reporter who prefers the pretender. At sea, in pursuit of the shark, will he escape pirates and mutiny, forge the bonds of fatherhood, place his arm around his wife, find the monster of the deep, re-establish box office hegemony, and discover a reason to smile?
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It wasn't my favorite Wes Anderson film, but it very much rang true to what he does best. Awkward "family" comedies that re-define what family is. There were definitely a few twists that caught me off guard. I didn't totally and completely love it, but I didn't hate it either. LOVED Owen Wilson in it. It's strange to see him in such a totally normal role for once.
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