The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou main backdrop
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou main poster

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou

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7.1/10 • 3K

2004-12-101h 59m

AdventureComedyDrama

The deeper you go, the weirder life gets.

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.

Directors
Wes Anderson
Editors
David Moritz

Top Billed Cast

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  1. Bill Murray

    Bill Murray

    Steve Zissou

  2. Owen Wilson

    Owen Wilson

    Ned Plimpton

  3. Cate Blanchett

    Cate Blanchett

    Jane Winslett-Richardson

  4. Anjelica Huston

    Anjelica Huston

    Eleanor Zissou

  5. Willem Dafoe

    Willem Dafoe

    Klaus Daimler

  6. Jeff Goldblum

    Jeff Goldblum

    Alistair Hennessey

  7. Michael Gambon

    Michael Gambon

    Oseary Drakoulias

  8. Noah Taylor

    Noah Taylor

    Vladimir Wolodarsky

  9. Bud Cort

    Bud Cort

    Bill Ubell

Reviews1

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CinemaSerf Avatar

CinemaSerf

May 25, 2025

6/10

So a giant shark gobbles up his lifelong partner and Jacques Cousteau’s stunt double “Steve Zissou” (Bill Murray) promptly embarks his crew aboard his converted WWII mine hunter and sets off in search of this leviathan of the seas. Of course, “Zissou” has spent so much of his life pursuing his quest for aquatic greatness that his domestic life is a bit of a mess, and that only gets more complicate when “Ned” (Owen Wilson) shows up claiming to be his long lost son. Who knew what, when and why is quickly swept under the rubber mats as he, too, joins in the search for the menacing beast along with journalist “Jane” (Cate Blanchett) for whom they both take a bit of a shine! Meantime, “Zissou” hasn’t got too much cash, but luckily his wealthy nemesis “Hennessey” (Jeff Goldblum) has a few well stocked facilities he can pilfer from and so armed with some “borrowed” tech they set off into an un-policed zone where dangers lurk both above and below the water line. I suppose fans of Murray might get more from this, or even the dry as a bone Wilson - but for me this was all just a bit too contrived; it’s not remotely funny and if you ever saw “Le monde du silence” (1956) then you’ll have most of the basic premise laid out for you. There ought to have been some fine underwater photography but nope, not really - just a mix of dysfunctional family life and a distinct lack of aquatic life tapered to the comedic talents of a cast that offers loads of cameos but not too much else. Watchable enough, but no great shakes - sorry.

Media

  • The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou poster
  • The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou poster
  • The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou poster
  • The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou poster
  • The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou poster
  • The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou poster
  • The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou poster
  • The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou poster
  • The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou poster

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Status
Released
Original Language
English
Budget
$50,000,000.00
Revenue
$34,808,403.00
Keywords
parent child relationshipred capdysfunctional familyrivalrypiratemagic realismestranged fatheroceanographyscientific expeditionfather son relationshipdioramaresearch turtlesacoustic guitarplayfulabsurdbrazilian character