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The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou

Play trailer Poster for The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou R Released Dec 25, 2004 1h 58m Comedy Play Trailer Watchlist
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57% Tomatometer 225 Reviews 82% Popcornmeter 100,000+ Ratings
Renowned oceanographer Steve Zissou (Bill Murray) has sworn vengeance upon the rare shark that devoured a member of his crew. In addition to his regular team, he is joined on his boat by Ned (Owen Wilson), a man who believes Zissou to be his father, and Jane (Cate Blanchett), a journalist pregnant by a married man. They travel the sea, all too often running into pirates and, perhaps more traumatically, various figures from Zissou's past, including his estranged wife, Eleanor (Anjelica Huston).
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The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou

The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou

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Critics Consensus

Much like the titular oceanographer, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou's overt irony may come off as smug and artificial -- but for fans of Wes Anderson's unique brand of whimsy it might be worth the dive.

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Critics Reviews

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Sukhdev Sandhu Daily Telegraph (UK) The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou is so knowing and so arch: the first part striving for a faux-grandiosity that the second part tries to undercut by its pseudo-geekiness... but ends up being plain annoying. Apr 1, 2019 Full Review Anthony Quinn Independent (UK) How much of this will work for you depends on your appetite for the picturesquely dysfunctional. Apr 1, 2019 Full Review Peter Bradshaw Guardian It is such a brilliant idea, and everything looks so great, especially the way the film is constructed on Cousteau-esque lines, with the calm deliberation of a nature documentary from a more innocent age. Rated: 3/5 Apr 1, 2019 Full Review Nick Rogers Midwest Film Journal While it would be nice to be able to laugh a little more (acoustic-guitar versions of David Bowie classics sung in Portuguese only go so far), the film delivers a metaphor for the death of romantic and robust boyhood imagination with great subtlety. Rated: 3.5/4 Nov 9, 2023 Full Review Cory Woodroof For the Win (USA Today) While most Anderson detractors point to The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou as why they don’t like the filmmaker, even arguably his weakest film is still pretty outstanding. Jun 28, 2023 Full Review Matt Brunson Film Frenzy It may be impossible to love The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou, but it's remarkably easy to drown in its sea of eccentricity. Rated: 3/4 Feb 8, 2023 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Audience Member I used to watch this movie really a lot of times but what I remember is that it got one of the most beautiful visuals and a unforgettable ending. Definitely gotta re-watch it Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 04/02/25 Full Review Alexsander F Grande filme, uma ode a Jacques-Yves Cousteau, o longa é lindo, é de uma simplicidade. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 03/25/25 Full Review Reese R This movie just gets me. It’s the perfect balance of visuals, dry humor and character development. The characters aren’t as deep as I’m implying but the adventures they’ve been going on symbolically define them. Some things are just random but the set design is fun and makes you want to be there. The story about how Steve is trying to find the shark parallels with the way Ned has been searching for Steve. He knew Steve knew he existed but still wanted to know what Steve would be willing to admit to. Steve’s selfish insecurities contrast with Ned’s constant selflessness and kindness and a match of energy when challenged to maintain balance and respect with the crew. Ned is willing to give everything he has while Steve is willing to take everything he can get. Ned even relates to the unborn child as he already knows what it’s like to not have a father figure and he knows how the woman feels because that’s exactly what his mother went through. He was just so pure in his goals to not only find and connect with his father but in his acceptance that he might not even mean anything to his father. Even after all the disappointment Ned still inspires Steve to finish what he set out to do. Ned seeing the note Steve had kept from him the whole time displays that Steve did actually care but had so much resentment to his own father figure, relying on mentors instead, he was almost afraid of expressing anything because maybe he felt insecure or weak. When Ned dies I cry. He was never valued the way he continuously valued others right up to the moment he died. Steve has to live with that regret and come to terms with how weak he was to ignore his son. I feel like the “I wonder if he remembers me.” hits like how he ignored Ned. He finally realizes after seeing the shark how it feels to be ignored by the thing you sought to find. The shark wasn’t searching for Steve, Steve was looking for the shark. Ned spent his whole life trying to find Steve and the gravity hits Steve when he realizes what he’d actually done. He hadn’t even attempted to find Ned. It makes me think about my regrets and how you can’t change the past. For some reason the goofy tone of the movie makes the more serious moments stand out to me in contrast. It’s my favorite Wes Film. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/27/25 Full Review Brad S. R Wes Anderson at his stylistic and substantive peak. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/15/25 Full Review Anna S Very aesthetically appealing film with a unique storytelling style, pique Wes Anderson Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/13/25 Full Review thiago s Filme mais ou menos, o roteiro é mais ou menos, o filme tem cenas bacaninhas, poucas impactantes mas não dá um alavancada no filme, o elenco é muito bom e alguns não melhoram o filme, o filme poderia ter cenas melhores, mas parece que todo filme do wes anderson ele fica preocupado mas com o elenco é o visual do filme que são bons, e fica meio para para o roteiro é as cenas, com tudo isso eu não recomendo esse filme. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 02/12/25 Full Review Read all reviews
The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou

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Movie Info

Synopsis Renowned oceanographer Steve Zissou (Bill Murray) has sworn vengeance upon the rare shark that devoured a member of his crew. In addition to his regular team, he is joined on his boat by Ned (Owen Wilson), a man who believes Zissou to be his father, and Jane (Cate Blanchett), a journalist pregnant by a married man. They travel the sea, all too often running into pirates and, perhaps more traumatically, various figures from Zissou's past, including his estranged wife, Eleanor (Anjelica Huston).
Director
Wes Anderson
Producer
Barry Mendel, Scott Rudin
Screenwriter
Wes Anderson, Noah Baumbach
Distributor
Buena Vista Pictures
Production Co
Touchstone Pictures, Scott Rudin Productions
Rating
R (Partial Nudity|Language|Some Drug Use|Violence)
Genre
Comedy
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Dec 25, 2004, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Jan 1, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA)
$24.0M
Runtime
1h 58m
Sound Mix
Surround, Dolby SRD, DTS, SDDS
Aspect Ratio
Scope (2.35:1)
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