Review of The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004) by Chillindylan G — 26 Jun 2015

The worst of his first 4 films in my opinion. Of course, it is beautifully shot with great set designs and bits of quirky humor peppered throughout. The cast is very strong, though I feel the acting itself was not up to the level of the talent. Owen Wilson's accent was not only bad, but it kept fading in and out annoyingly - like it was so forced that he couldn't keep up the charade the whole time. The characters were a little too stiff in their reactions to certain events (cat dying, getting slapped, stolen equipment, Ned, etc.) - to where there was a bit of an emotional disconnect with this film for me. The dialogue, while still good in most parts, is a bit awkward and clunky at times when compared to his other works. And, there were some strange concepts seemingly just for the sake of being strange (what was with the chick on his crew that didn't wear a shirt in the beginning? Was she like the female version of Randy from Trailer Park Boys?). And the whole Bill Murray = Rambo scene and subsequent rescue mission were much more absurd than funny to me. While there was great attention to detail with regards to some of the creatures (crayon seahorse, pufferfish, rhinestone bluefin), the story, conversely, was all too often boring, slow paced, and without much energy. Disappointing film overall.

Grade = 4.5/10.