Robowriter:

This movie slowly grows on you until its complete effect wins you over by the end. At first it's retro-Cousteau (cheesy film titles and lumpy documentary scripting and acting) and self-satirical (in a foppish, Italian Explorer Society kind of way), then increasingly quirky (with whimsically colorful CGI piscines), but always with the brushed-leather feel of the humanity that Bill Murray and his ensemble cast all contribute together. (Willem Dafoe and esp. Kate Blanchett stand out best.) You should love the Dave Bowie songs performed a la portugues above all, as they tie the film together in an aural texture as did Jonathan Richman in There's Something About Mary. This film adds several wonderful touches reminiscent of The Big Fish and Buckaroo Banzai. 4.5 stars.

TH Reviews:

Quirky and offbeat, I enjoyed Life Aquatic--but then I loved Lost in Translation which is another misunderstood serio-comedy with Murray. While Life Aquatic is a lesser film to be sure--there were enough moments of absurdity and hilarity to keep me connected. Murray seems to be interested in doing more films about the absurdity and lostness we encounter in midlife. Murray questions the direction his life has taken in both films--Life Aquatic simply takes itself less seriously. Wilson, Blanchett, and DaFoe provide wonderful back up in this sometimes uneven, but often hilarious film. There are certainly moments to enjoy in this film and they pretty much get us over the bumps and flaws we encounter--the soundtrack is very fun--David Bowie translated in the Portugese! Also generous special features on the DVD package. With all the main characters joining Steve Zissou for a march into the camera at the end of the film I was reminded of a similar quirky little comedy from the 1980's called The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai! I wonder if Wes Anderson ever saw it??

Og Oggilby:

I'm a Wes Anderson fan. I loved this movie but as I watched it I knew it was not for everyone. Somehow Wes and his crew created a "foriegn film" made by and starring americans. Jacques Cousteau was ripe for making fun of and I'm surprised no one has done it before. Bill Murry gives another ignored Oscar performance. And there simply was not enough of Angelica Houston who plays his wealthy ex wife. But I digress. This movie is about a Cousteau like oceanographer whose career documentaries, finances, and boat have seen better days. He's a burn out case brought about by the loss of his long time partner who was eaten by a never heard of species of shark. He announces at a press conference that he will find this exotic creature and kill it for revenge. This is a simplifacation of the plot and of what goes on but to write about it will not do you the reader any good. The movie has to be SEEN. Willem Defoe is hilarious and you can tell he had way too much fun playing this role as a german crew member who hero worships Murray. His accent alone is worth a lot of laughs, so are his silver rubber booties. This is an eccentric film and again not for most americans. But I love foriegn films and have been diving since 1973 with some of the top rated divers in the world so it holds more for me than most other audiences. But if you are a fan of Anderson's rent this movie, I've already bought it.

Firewater:

Loved RUSHMORE. Thought THE ROYAL TANNENBAUMS was quirky and odd, but okay. BOTTLE ROCKET was sweet. THE LIFE AQUATIC WITH STEVE ZISSOU is more like TANNENBAUMS than the other two. And by that I mean it's more difficult to describe in terms of story, themes and plot. All of the actors deliver amazing performances, especially Bill Murray. Yet, for a comedy it is very sad, and the experience of watching the movie somehow left me feeling incomplete. I wouldn't discourage anyone from watching this because it is a brilliant piece of work, but it was just okay for me. Also, it has one of the worst commentary tracks ever.

PdxPhoenix:

Big names in the cast, but they're wasted. I kept watching it hoping it'd get better; it didn't. That's 2 hours of my life I'll never get back.

danb:

This is a subtle movie that lends itself to many multiple viewings. There are so many brilliant lines in this movie that it's almost overwhelming, but, again, you have to actually work to appreciate it. This isn't "Meet The Folkers", people. It is a good litmus test for whether or not you're interesting, though. If you are, you dig this movie. If you're not, you don't.

BunnyKing:

Here's another of Murray's semi-depressing, post comedy dramadies. It's not to say this movie isn't funny, because it is, but it has that mood, this Murray-midlife-crisis mood like his recent films. Everybody does a good job acting, everyone is spot on, I especially liked Goldbum's performance. If ou're in the mood for something smart, clever and funny, for for this. It's a good art house laugh.

Dragavan:

I was never a fan of Jacques Cousteau, but I have seen many of his TV specials over the years growing up when they were new, so I was familiar with what this movie was basing the characters and humor on. I am also a fan of Bill Murray, both the old goofy Bill and the elder statesmen Bill as of late, so I knew I would like his performance, but I wasn't sure the movie as a whole would hold up to my tastes. Technically this movie is fantastic. The sets they built (especially the crosscut version of the ship) were quirky and very fitting. The use of stop-motion animation was a great choice, as it added a sense of life and a little surrealism to the underwater scenes. The editing and the technical stuff was fine, but what really made this movie work for me was the sound and music design, especially the widespread use of on-set music performed by one of the actors. It was great hearing classic David Bowie tunes performed acoustic and in Portuguese. This pushed my review from a 3 to a 4 star rating. The acting was good, for the most part, but very little of it is what I would call great. Bill was amusing, as usual, but several others were not that great (I'm looking at you Owen). Overall the performances worked, but that's not a glowing a review. The story is a little convoluted, with several threads tracked through it, but none of them are really that important since the movie is really just about the characters. The final walking scene is very worth watching, as it says a lot about them without any words. As for what the DVD contains, this is a Criterion Collection so I have higher standards for them. Unfortunately this doesn't live up to the usual standards I expect from them. Still it has deleted scenes, a little behind the scenes, and a commentary track, which was recorded in a crowded restaurant and has to often bleep out names (making it hard to listen to, even for me). On a normal DVD I would give these a pass, but not for a Criterion Collection.

FilmSnobFW:

Quite nice, much better than I was expecting. Bill, Cate, and Anjelica make up for Owen. Its all a bit precious, but this cast pulls it off.

agd 304856:

I typically have to "mull over" a film for a while before I can call it a favorite. The Life Aquatic was no exception, though the mull time was quite a bit shorter than usual. While watching the movie, I laughed at the dry humor of the clever dialogue, appreciated the seamless way in which each actor became his or her character (each part was obviously written for the actor/actress playing it), and marvelled at the unobtrusive beauty with which the natural(?) world was depicted. Then I slept on it. Then I woke up, and I found that I couldn't stop thinking about it. I chuckled to myself as I remembered lines that amused me the night before. I mulled over characters and their relationships, and found this to be a very deep film about people that aren't bad, just flawed. This movie is about coming to terms with how unsaintly we all really are, coming to terms with our flaws, and loving each other in spite of (or ideally, because of) them. Bill Murray has never been better, and Willem Dafoe is arguably the best actor for being funny when his characters try so hard to be serious (my apologies to Christopher Walken).

Supercords:

As expected, an odd and quirky movie with an all star cast. The humor is along the lines of Wes Anderson's other films, but even more subtle than before. I wasn't really sure what to think of it. The music is great, the characters odd, and the story bizzare. Rating: C+

podious:

It?s now official: I?m a big Wes Anderson fan. I don?t think there were many times during this movie in which I wasn?t at least smiling or smirking. The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou is mostly a spoof of Jacques Cousteau, in which we follow Team Zissou to find the rare jaquar shark that ate one of its members and life-long friend of Steve Zissou, its captain. Everything about this movie is very original and eccentric - from the screenplay, props, soundtrack, and everything in between. The cast, which is a list of powerhouse actors, were remarkable and funny. I think my favorite was Willem Dafoe as Klaus, one of Steve Zissou?s (Bill Murray) crew members. He has an undying friendship with Steve, even though the feelings aren?t reciprocated evenly. When Steve?s alleged long lost son, Ned (Owen Wilson), comes into the picture, he gets very jealous of Ned, which cracked me up. One of the treasures of the movie?s supporting cast was Pele, played by Seu Jorge. Between scenes, he plays really good acoustic versions of popular David Bowie songs in Portuguese. I didn?t know they were all Bowie until the end of the movie, but I knew I recognized the tunes to most and was able to spot Space Oddity. I don?t want to give away any more, but it?s stuff like that for which you have to tip your hat to Wes Anderson. His movies aren?t for everyone, but if you like one of his previous ones (Bottle Rocket, Rushmore, Royal Tenebaums), you?re bound to love Life Aquatic.

Rigel:

I don't know what classification this film fits under. Parody? Satire? Mockumentary? It's obviously riffing on Cousteau films, right down to the silly hats the whole crew wears. But there's also a blend of Yellow Submarine mixed in and some unique Wes Anderson touches recognizeable from his prior films. Unfortunately, the energy level of both the film and the characters can only be described in one word: pathetic. Not insultingly, the characters are just kinda sad, resigned, and generally individually uninspired. They trudge through the film without any real third dimension. Bill Murray is particularly blase and one wonders if he will ever make us laugh again, because he sure doesn't in this film. Billed as a comedy, there's remarkably little funny here, and even less to actually care about.

MattChance:

The visual style of this movie is extremely unique and pleasant to take in. Some of the set designs (In particular, the cutaway "dollhouse" shell of Zissou's ship) are truly ingenious. The single problem I have with The Life Aquatic is that it takes much too long to reach a high note. It gets to a point when you expect the entire movie to be a very sad story. The high point makes it all worthwhile in the end. You just have to stick through the rough times to reach it.

Orian:

Considering NFlix indicated I would like it, Life Aquatic was a big disappointment. Note the opinions expressed below are from an individual who did not watch the whole movie. I watched half of it with 3 other friends and we couldn't bare to watch the rest. Life aquatic is a humorless comedy, jokes and amusing situations are few and far between. The plot is slow moving and lack luster. With such an all star cast, it is surprising to find all the characters are uninspired and do not resonate with the audience. One out of five. I can't give zero, because Nflix rating is like the SAT; you get 1 point just for making a movie.

Jennie Z:

I enjoy a dark, quirky comedy as much as the next weirdo but I felt like this movie was full of characters that were parodies of themselves, lacking any foothold in reality which would have allowed the viewer to connect emotionally. The story was too weak to make up for the characters' shortcomings. On top of this the director threw in the occasional cheesy looking CGI sea creature, which I'm left to assume were *supposed* to be cheesy looking, in order to be "edgy" or, I don't know, "indie." The only saving grace was the fantastic soundtrack. Yet, I can't find myself saying this movie was exactly horrible, just extremely unimpressive. Like Major Major of "Catch-22," "Life Aquatic" is exceptionally mediocre.

jqf 462593:

This was a very good movie. It was one of those movies where you wonder why they did some of the things they did...from the animated fish to some of the jokes made. It was dry humor, which I like, and was the kind of movie where you might not laugh out loud, but definately will be choked up on the inside.

eclapham:

It seems that the films of Wes Anderson are an acquired taste. I must admit, I hardly made it through Rushmore, but after The Royal Tenenbaums and now The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, I'm going to give Rushmore another chance. So, even if you haven't cared for Anderson's films in the past, you may still want to give them a chance. They've certainly grown on me. And, if you're already an Anderson fan, quit reading this and go watch the movie; you'll love it. I'm not really sure what I can say about The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. It's quirky, ridiculous, hilarious, and just plain fun. The characters are varied and wonderful. The story is off the wall and great. The sets are fantastic. Everything about this movie is just amazing. As usual, Criterion puts out another stellar DVD. The audio, while not as explosive as I had expected, is certainly a great mix. Everything comes through crisp and clear and sounds beautiful. The video transfer reproduces the lovely cinematography perfectly. The colors come across very strong, well saturated but not bleeding or blooming. Just like the film itself, this DVD is outstanding.

Matthew McQuilkin, Seattle WA:

About halfway through the latest Wes Anderson quirkfest The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, I found myself thinking to myself, This is about as bad as people have been saying it is. It wasn't terrible, mind you -- just a bit too slow for my taste and only barely managing to hold my interest. If the second half of the movie was to be the same way, then I was afraid I might actually fall asleep. One thing that can definitely be said about Wes Anderson is that he is very skilled at setting a peculiar tone, and one that lasts for the duration of a film with some consistency. This would have been my biggest worry, actually, about halfway through the film. But then this story about an eccentric (of course) rich (of course) aquatic life documentarian past his prime making a final film about his quest for revenge against a shark, that may or may not exist and that allegedly ate his best friend, finally got a little more exciting. And more interesting, because when a Wes Anderson film gets exciting, it tends to be in very strange ways. No exception here, what with a pirate attack and a subsequent rescue operation involving pretty much the entire cast of characters so perfectly balanced in a place barely on this side of loony that they actually come across as real, ugly, and refreshingly human. This is a kind of role that Bill Murray plays exceptionally well.

WK 1799173:

If you are an insomniac this movie may cure you. Tried to watch it twice and had a good nights sleep both times.

The Pessumist:

Well this movie was the final straw, i will no longer give an Anderson movie a chance. This movie was different from Rushmore and Bottle Rocket in that I actually did chuckle a few times. Bill Murray makes this somewhat redeemable, but i certainly don't recommend it.

NetflixFan:

This film is a live-action cartoon about a selfish jerk who, in the middle of his life, discovers and comes to terms with the realization he is a selfish jerk, through the nearly unconditional love of his family and friends.

Frank W:

A Wes Anderson movie is kind of like tapioca pudding ? there's stuff in there that's smooth and delicious, but there's even more that's chunky and unappealing. But whereas we always know what we'll get with the sweet gelatinous dessert, with an Anderson movie, there seems to be a need to surprise us with a bigger and chunkier lump in every bite. Whimsy and imagination, when used correctly, can be marvelously endearing aspects of moviemaking. In Big Fish, Tim Burton used a perfect blend of whimsical imagination and brilliant storytelling to steal our hearts. But in The Life Aquatic, Anderson seems to be using his active imagination more for the purpose of drawing attention to his moviemaking skills than for making me like the movie. Several parts of the film are interesting and intriguing in and of themselves, but as a well-oiled storytelling unit, The Life Aquatic has way too many chunks and lumps for me to willingly swallow.