The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou

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The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou

R

Released Dec 25, 2004

1h 58m

Comedy

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Popcornmeter

57%

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225 Reviews

82%

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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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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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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

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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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julie b

Life Aquatic in summary is vibrant colours, sincerity, humor juxtaposed against melancholy, and silly little music bursts. It’s not perfect but it strikes a chord. Lots of good performances and characters - Bill Murray, young Cate Blanchett, Willem (in his little shorts) and Dumbledore all in one??

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

09/23/24

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mark g

Wes Anderson is an icon, but this film sucked. Just lazy and trying way too hard to be hip.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

09/19/24

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Mason M

It's not the worst film I've seen, but it's far too scattered in tone for me to really latch on to anything in the story.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

09/12/24

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Korra N

Weird, goofy and eccentric, The Life Aquatic... is arguably Wes Anderson's most underrated & underappreciated film, with a whole host of zany characters and wacky antics that will be staples of Anderson's works like in The Grand Budapest Hotel & Fantastic Mr. Fox. Wes Anderson's films aren't for everyone, but I do think Life Aquatic... should be seen by more folks just for how quirky it is.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

08/18/24

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Meagan I

I saw this film two decades ago in the theater, it is still my favorite film of all time. Over the past two decades, I’ve probably rewatched this film a couple of dozen times.We are introduced to an absolutely gorgeous, colorful world, that is not only imaginative, but human. We are tossed into an array of dry sarcastic humor, and Seu George. There is the beautiful balance of laughter, art, and slight sadness. I saw Seu George in concert covering David Bowie, shortly after Bowie’s passing, and that was my favorite concert of all time. I don’t know if it is a neurodivergent thing, or if the combination of art, film, and humanity is a perfect marriage, to create my niche. I adore this film, and I hope you do as well.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

08/05/24

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Audience Member

The first time I watched this, years ago, I thought it was just ok…rewatching now, I think it’s one of Wes Anderson’s finest films. Maybe it’s because I’m older, but it really resonated with me.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

06/07/24

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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