The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
32% overall doesn't tell the real story for The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. This is a film that gets stronger as tournaments advance — a better matchup in a final than its win rate suggests. Bill Murray as a washed-up Jacques Cousteau hunting the shark that ate his partner, with a crew in red beanies and Seu Jorge singing Bowie in Portuguese on deck. It flopped, got called indulgent, and then spent twenty years becoming an Anderson film people are oddly sentimental about. It ranks among the weakest 2000s performers on the platform.
Synopsis
Renowned oceanographer Steve Zissou 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, a man who believes Zissou to be his father, and Jane, 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.
From 21% to 63% across the bracket. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou is one of those rare films that improves against harder opposition — the final-round version is a different competitor than the one that started.
The Royal Tenenbaums is the easy matchup at 67%. Fantastic Mr. Fox is the kryptonite at 21%. The gap between best and worst opponent says a lot about what The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou can and can't handle.
The Best of Wes Anderson final — The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou vs. The Grand Budapest Hotel — lands at 60%. A clear but not overwhelming edge.
Wes Anderson's 8 films span a wide range: Fantastic Mr. Fox at 70% to Asteroid City at 21%. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou sits at #7.
Dead last in Best of Wes Anderson.
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