The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou

I find myself in the same situation I was in when I was reviewing Hulk. It's a different movie, but both have one thing in common: The creators of the films both wanted to create something unique and different. I admire film makers that don't recycle the same ideas over and over again. Unfortunately, taking risks means that the mass-market appeal maybe less than if the film maker decides to play it safe, not take any chances and serve more of the same. Remember, the most popular flavor of ice cream is vanilla and the most popular car is the achingly boring Toyota Camry. Is it any surprise that Hollywood gives us the same thing over and over and never tries to give America anything unique to entertain us? I really liked the movie and gave it an 8 out of 10, but I also think it may not be right for everyone. I do, however, guarantee that you haven't seen anything like this before.

I've never been so disappointed with a movie in my life. There wasn't anything remotely funny in this film; only what you saw in the trailer which the second time around got a smile from me. Other that that the movie was dragged out and boring, with too many pauses, poorly written dialog, and too simple of a plot, with one foreseeable direction. Bill Murray's character is as boring as the one he played in Lost in Translation. By that I mean flat, dead, and lack-luster. I loved Bill Murray in Scrooged, Ghost Busters, Groundhog Day, Caddyshack, & The Man Who Knew too Much; but I wonder if his latest films are bad because he's feeling old? I hope not because I think he has a lot more energy than he's showing on the screen, so he should stop taking boring parts. I didn't care for any of the characters, and couldn't connect with any of them accept for maybe Owen Wilson and a young reporter on board. I felt the whole movie was dreary & depressing. The camera style, documentary footage made the movie even worse. I would'nt even bother to rent this one.

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 old saying is true. Boat movies are boring. I'm not going to get into this war of love or hate about "The Life Aquatic." I loved Bottle Rocket, Rushmore, and Royal Tenenbaums. But I think that Aquatic was a miss for Wes Anderson. No, it wasn't a terrible movie, not by a long shot. NOR was it a brilliant movie. As for those saying I just didn't "get it," well I did get it. The movie was boring, that is what I got. Like all Anderson movies, there is an eclectic cast of odd ball characters. My fave was Dafoe as the humble German servant who is finally elevated to "A' team leader toward the end. The setups and set pieces were interesting, and performances all very good. But the camera seemed confined even on scenes that weren't on the boat and shots lacked depth all leading to a "stage" feel. Some of the scenes on the boat set played a bit too long, and came off less convincing and more "play acted" style with dialog scenes that needed to be tightened up. In all, the movie came off as stage play like. LOTS of wordy exchanges that many times add up to little. Not my preference, I don't like plays, I like movies. But that is one easily debated, go ahead set me on fire. I hate plays, unless of course it is one by Max Fischer. Of course this was a point heavily emphasized with the nature of the ship set and I understand that a ship IS IN FACT confining. But in movies like Das Boot, the filmmakers take that opportunity to take the microcosm of the ship and use setups that recognize the limited space, but also EXPAND that world for the audience. Difference in style. I didn't like the way it was done here. Go ahead, burn me at the stake. Murray was great, I loved his character. But the story languished for a good hour in the middle. Call it character development or texture, but I still fell off the boat, I was bored senseless. The movie needed pace and several attempts at comedy fell flat. I GOT THE JOKES, they just weren't all that funny. Toward the end, the movie rescued itself when the Zissou team rescues the bond agent from the pirates. From then on out it was fine. There was a kind of saving grace in the overall execution of the film. The performances and typical Anderson oddities made it interesting. But overall, on pure entertainment value, which is what movies are all about, it fails. I was bored for an hour or more. Good try Wes, but tighten it up next time.

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).

The Life Aquatic is pure pretentious trash, devoid of humor, wit, and even theme. With this film, Wes Anderson has proved himself to be one of Hollywood's most overrated filmmakers. Watching this film actually makes me question his sanity. Wes Anderson seems to find humor in superficial, pointless things, such as red hats, sneakers, and characters' accents. Why are red hats and sneakers funny to Wes Anderson, or to people who actually claim to like this movie? I am baffled. There is no wit or cleverness involved in giving characters red hats and sneakers. It's a non-sequiter, and not even a funny one. And why are people with accents so funny to Wes Anderson? I have an answer: he is racist. The audience is supposed to laugh at the fact that there is a German, a Brazillian and an Indian on Steve Zissou's crew, simply because these people are not Americans. These characters do and say nothing funny. A Brazillian man singing David Bowie songs is not funny. Wes Anderson is just so unfamilliar with non-Americans that it's funny to him. Everybody who wishes to pretend that this is a good film is forced to laugh along. This film was unbearable!!!!!

I do not know what was being attempted by this movie. If it is a parody, then it drastically needs humor. Bill Murray's character Zissou is an empty shell of a person who really doesn't care about anything, not even money or greed like Royal Tannenbaum. It is hard for me to see any resemblance to film maker Cousteau. Most of the characters are as one-sided as paper dolls. Owen Wilson's Ned is the only one who seems to have any blood pulsing through his veins. Basically, this movie is a vapid cartoon. Actual aquatic life is wonderful. Why does this movie want to adorn fish with finger paints and rhinestones ? How depressing !!!

After watching three-quarters of the movie and shutting if off in disgust, I was incredulous when I came here and read all the wonderful reviews of this film. So I watched it again, just in case it was merely a case of me having a bad day the first time I watched it, or perhaps the film all came together after I had quit watching it. I figured I must have missed something. So now, after watching it all the way through, my final conclusion is that this is one of the worst movies I have ever seen. I kept waiting for something funny to occur but I could see every joke coming from a mile away. There was not one iota of originality. Sadly, the trailer that was shown on television before the film was released had all the funniest scenes from the movie in it, but even they weren't really weren't all that funny. Although I am a big Bill Murray fan, this is one of his projects I will forget and try to not hold it against him.

Well exactly as my summary says, this is a very well made straight-out unpretentious movie about a fading wildlife-film director's attempt to re-create his past success that made him some sort of cult phenomenon. Reading a few of the other reviews, I think this is evidently a "hate it or love it" film, however a lot of people seem to have missed the point-I don't think this film was really intended as a comdey, to me it was more just about the relationships and interactions between the various characters and maybe even an exploration of the human spirit. The motivation for this project is revenge on the "leopard shark" that killed his best friend/long-standing partner and there is a lot of emotion on the way, including an inspiring relationship between him and his long lost son, whom he has never met but was a huge fan of his as a boy, and the constant drama between him and his wife, who's father's money has payed for his entire career. Wes Anderson has excellent cinematography, with some great CGI, depicting marine life in a very retro fashion, and beautiful landscapes, as well as a very well put-together soundtrack including Sigur Ros, The Stooges and Ziggy Stardust era Bowie played in Portuguese with a classical guitar accompaniment. We also see Bill Murray at his best as well as a heart-warming performance by Owen Wilson, who I am not normally a fan of. The script is also very well written and the story is so well put-together that even an attack by pirates or looting a large scientific institution seem plausible in a serious movie about an oceanographer! Overall, this is a brilliant film and there isn't a lot more I can say.

I had high expectations for this film -- Bill Murray is one of my favorite comedic actors; I loved Groundhog Day, What about Bob? and many other films with Bill Murray as star. The Life Aquatic is an absolutely terrible movie, not worth the price of admission or the price to rent. Not one other guest in the theater laughed -- at any point in the film. The characters all fall flat -- there are minutes upon minutes before any humor is attempted, and when it is, it always falls flat. Some terrible tragedies are portrayed as humorous, and even these scenes are not funny at all. It seems as if there is no point to this film -- nothing sustains it as it creeps along intolerably. I fought off falling asleep several times, disbelieving that a movie with this kind of cast could be this bad. An epically bad film, one of the top ten most boring, unfunny, and ridiculous films of all time -- based upon the actors involved. I am upset that I wasted two hours of my time and so felt compelled to write this review.