The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou Critic Reviews

An exquisitely evocative movie that elevates rueful melancholia to a superpower.Read the full review

The actor's (Murray) quiet, downcast presence modulates the antic busyness that encircles him, and his performance is a triumph of comic minimalism.Read the full review

Wonderfully weird and wistful adventure-comedy about a fish-out-of-water oceanographer.Read the full review

It's almost a great movie. For half of its running time, Anderson maintains a distinct and arresting tone of vague absurdity, and then he loses control and the film begins to dip into silliness. Individual scenes become labored. Yet even at its worst, The Life Aquatic is always interesting -- there's really nothing else like it.Read the full review

Wilson drops the ironic smirk to give a sincerely affecting performance. His scenes with Murray provide the ballast when the script veers off into unconvincing pirate attacks and animated sea creatures.Read the full review

Even when caught in a rut, Anderson's obsessive vision still yields many exhilarating surprises.Read the full review

Hovers frustratingly somewhere between charming and only mildly amusing.Read the full review

As someone who has warmed up to Anderson's work only gradually, I'd call this a step back for him, but I also can't help but wonder: Will he ever take that crucial step forward and stop saying, Isn't it ironic?Read the full review

The damnedest film. I can't recommend it, but I would not for one second discourage you from seeing it.Read the full review