The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou

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The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou

R

2004

1h 58m

Comedy

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

57%

Tomatometer

224 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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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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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

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Anthony Quinn

Independent (UK)

How much of this will work for you depends on your appetite for the picturesquely dysfunctional.

Apr 1, 2019

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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

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Sarah Ward

Concrete Playground

Will always be Anderson's undersung gem. It's so quintessentially Anderson and, with its length, it's guilty of sprawling — but every absurdist moment is a marvel.

Oct 16, 2025

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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

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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

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Stephen C

LOL, grossed $24,000,000.00 in the USA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

06/19/25

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RJ M

One of the best films! I have no idea why people don't like this. The cast, characters, music and wardrobe are perfect. Yes it's bonkers and crazy, but brilliant, funny and moving.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/29/25

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Jennifer Tehani S

I’m not a huge fan of Wes Anderson but this was such a fun and charming watch! I won’t watch it again, but it was worth seeing. Admittedly, I only sought this out because Seu Jorge is in it (I saw him play live in Rio) and I’m a water baby who just sold my boat so… this is by no means the least biased review out there, but I enjoyed it. Worth seeing it once for sure. Especially if you enjoy Seu Jorge’s covers of David Bowie… in Portuguese! I love his simple melodies and voice. Seu Jorge fans will enjoy this but as far as a movie-goer, I don’t know if I’d like it as much if I wasn’t so biased.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

05/31/25

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Michael V

The critics don't know anything, they often disagree with general audiences and this is one of those times. This is my favorite Wes Anderson film, it is hilarious and bizarre in equal measure and endearingly absurd in all the right ways.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/13/25

Full Review

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

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Wes Anderson

Director

Bill Murray

Steve Zissou

Owen Wilson

Ned Plimpton

Cate Blanchett

Jane Winslett-Richardson

Anjelica Huston

Eleanor Zissou

Willem Dafoe

Klaus Daimler

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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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