The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou

Play trailer

The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou

R

2004

1h 58m

Comedy

Romance

Action

Adventure

Drama

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

57%

Tomatometer

224 Reviews

82%

Popcornmeter

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).

Watch on Fandango

Stream Now

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.

Read Critics Reviews

Sukhdev Sandhu

Daily Telegraph (UK)

Apr 1, 2019

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.

Go to Full Review

Anthony Quinn

Independent (UK)

Apr 1, 2019

How much of this will work for you depends on your appetite for the picturesquely dysfunctional.

Go to Full Review

Peter Bradshaw

Guardian

Apr 1, 2019

3/5

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.

Go to Full Review

Sarah Ward

Concrete Playground

Oct 16, 2025

Will always be Anderson's undersung gem. It's so quintessentially Anderson and, with its length, it's guilty of sprawling — but every absurdist moment is a marvel.

Go to Full Review

Nick Rogers

Midwest Film Journal

Nov 9, 2023

3.5/4

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.

Go to Full Review

Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Feb 8, 2023

3/4

It may be impossible to love The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou, but it's remarkably easy to drown in its sea of eccentricity.

Go to Full Review

Read all reviews

Frans B

@FransB 5 days ago

Very well done, again, by Wes Anderson. Amazing cinematography and storytelling. Very well written and brought to screen. Usual quirkiness, awkward action, drama, melodrama, off-beat take on subjects, whimsical, weird twists, eccentric, emotional and filled with intrigue. Whole stellar cast shines in character, Bill Murray in particular. Very entertaining and captivating

See more

keven Q

@kevenquinlan 6 days ago

I don't like a lot of the directors movies- but this one was pretty good. Maybe it was the cast or the subject matter? I'm keeping this one.

See more

Madam D

@Madam1948 Sep 27, 2026

This unique film not only had a great cast but terrific special effects.

See more

Ian S

@RT17606225 Sep 13, 2026

Boring, trying to be funny and smart, though it comes off as douchee. Fun scenes, simple basic comedy. Two stars is it. Best parts are Klaus (WD) The second time I watched this film I stopped it after 35min. Will never try to watch this abortion again.

See more

Trevor B

@TrevBills Apr 14, 2026

What the heck was this??

See more

Levi J

@Lev77 Mar 29, 2026

Great, smart, and underrated Wes Anderson movie!

See more

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

POST RATING

Wes Anderson

Director

Bill Murray

Steve Zissou

Owen Wilson

Ned Plimpton

Cate Blanchett

Jane Winslett-Richardson

Anjelica Huston

Eleanor Zissou

Willem Dafoe

Klaus Daimler

I Heart Huckabees

63%

75%

I Heart Huckabees

Watchlist

The Ladykillers

54%

43%

The Ladykillers

Watchlist

Mumford

60%

65%

Mumford

Watchlist

Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo

22%

42%

Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo

Watchlist

Swing

33%

40%

Swing

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

Rank All of Wes Anderson’s Movies

Archer, Better Call Saul, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, and More on Netflix and Amazon Prime This Week

View more photos

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, Romance, Action, Adventure, Drama
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)

Join The Newsletter

Join The Newsletter

Cookie Settings