Movie Review - THE LIFE AQUATIC WITH STEVE ZISSOU

Before you see this move, remember one thing. This is not a popcorn movie. This is not a blockbuster. Some films try to be a little more by giving us a little less. Wes Anderson is the new master of this type of film. If you liked Anderson's last film, The Royal Tenenbaums, you'll love this. If you hated Tenenbaums, don't bother here. Go rent Chronicles of Riddick.
I thought this movie enchanting from start to finish. Steve Zissou (Bill Murray) is a Jacque Cousteau clone, traveling the oceans of the world with his intrepid crew, and filming documentaries about undersea life. While shooting his latest Doc, Steve's best friend Esteban (Seymour Cassell) is eaten by a huge new species of shark, which Steve dubs the Jaguar Shark. But Steve droped the camera when Esteban was devoured, so none of his contemporaries believe his tale. He vows revenge and mounts an expidition to "find it and destroy it, possibly with dynamite." He is joined by an incredible cast of actors including his wife Elanor (Angelica Huston), first officer Klaus (Willem Dafoe), pregnant reporter Jane (Cate Blanchett), rival oceanographer and Elanor's ex Alistair Hennessey (Jeff Goldblum) and Ned Plimpton (Owen Wilson) who claims Steve is his long-lost father.
The acting here is truly great. I can't think of another ensemble cast that shines like this one. Even the normally weak Owen Wilson does the best work of his career in this film. And this allows Wes Anderson to truly explore his characters. He doesn't use a lot of cutaways and coverage shots, prefering to stay on a two shot of two characters interacting and let the actors do thier thing. He follows his cast in and out of rooms instead of editing his way through a scene. The coolest shots are filmed on a giant cross-section of Steve's ship. Imagine a ship cut in half from top to bottom and built on a life-size scale. It looked like the Hollywood Squares set. But as the cast wandered from room to room, the camera simply followed, passing through walls and up stairs. It was cool. Besides the set and the exotic locations, this film looks like it was made for about $1000. It's grainy and has not been digitally fixed up. The only special effects are the wierd undersea creatures which are claymation and reminded me of the creatures in Beetlejuice. There are a few shoot-outs, which look very fake. Not a lot if effort was put into those scenes but it was an intentional move. It adds to the lunacy of where this film takes you. It's not an obviously funny movie, there's no zingers that go for the cheap joke, but you will laugh out loud at some of the dialogue.
Wes Anderson has directed 4 films now (Life Aquatic, Royal Tenenbaums, Rushmore, and Bottle Rocket), all of which are rated a 7.4 or above on IMDB. He is a genius of a screenwriter and getting better as a director. Again this film is not for everyone, but it is supremely rewarding to those who "get it."

The Sneaky Cheetah's Grade: A