Saw a special sneek screening of The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, the new movie from director Wes Anderson. The film focuses on undersea explorer Steve Zissou (Bill Murray) and his latest adventure – seeking out the rare jaguar shark to kill it in an act of revenge for killing his long-time explorer partner. Meanwhile, Ned (Owen Wilson) shows up, and is supposedly Zissou’s long-lost son. The film is more or less about their story, with lots of side-plots thrown in for good measure. As with most Anderson films, it’s all about the characters. And while this film had a lot of interesting moments, it didn’t seem to have a good emotional core, which it needed to sustain it.
By far, the best sequence (both in the film, and in Mark Mothersbaugh’s score) was the “Rescuing the Bond Company Stooge” segment. The film was not fully finished (it seemed like the end credits were missing), and so I’ll have to wait for the final film before rendering my ultimate verdict, but I’d say that if you’re into Wes Anderson films, you’ll enjoy it, but find it to be one of his weaker entries, despite its quirkiness and humor.