I would rather shit in my hands and clap than watch this movie to the end.
This was the first movie I have ever walked out of the cinema after 45 minutes.
Fans of Wes Anderson will certainly have a good time with "Asteroid City". Like most of the director's other projects, the film is funny, quirky, visually unique, and generally incredibly creative.On top of that, as usual, the cast is chock-full of well-known actors. Although several attempts have been made to imitate Anderson's style, no one has been successful thus far.
Despite my praises, however, there are a few weak points. I don't think Anderson's new film will persuade his detractors. On the contrary, he drifts further away from attempting to tell a coherent story. It is quite noticeable that the framework of the story is hardly present in his more recent films. Individual scenes are still often fantastic, but when combined, they don't always make for a strong overall film.
All in all, though, I continue to be satisfied. As I said, fans of Wes Anderson will definitely like "Asteroid City." And I count myself among that group for sure.
This is just a movie about a movie about a play about a play. And that's where the disappointment lies.
There's no arch. No heroes or foes. No obstacles to overcome. Nothing gets solved, and there's no real payoff. It's just a story within a story within a story and you the audience is expected to marvel at how terribly clever it is. It's incredible clever. But it's not very watchable.
Ultimately it's just a series of scenes, one after another, that you don't care about.
Scale it down, Wes. I’ve been a fan of everything he’s done since Fantastic Mr. Fox, and this is the first one in a long time that doesn’t sit well with me. It’s easily his loosest film since The Darjeerling Limited, and as a result he kinda lost sight of a coherent narrative here. It simply has too many characters, and while they’re all decently interesting, none of the arcs are developed to a point where I felt an emotional pay-off. The postmodern/meta stuff tanks the pacing and adds little to the overall narrative. There’s an attempt to use that layer to give the film a deeper meaning in the third act, but it feels like an anticlimax. The deeper meaning is that there is no deeper meaning, we’re just putting on a show . Ok? Did Rian Johnson have input on this script? Is this Wes trolling the people who claim that he’s style over substance? Add to that that this is one of his films that relies the least on comedy, and I can only conclude that this might just be his weakest screenplay. The reason why I still like it, however, is mostly because of the technical aspects. The cinematography, set design, editing and music are all fantastic and I’m continuously amazed by how this man is able to build a complete, original world for every new film. There’s always enough quirk and detail in the frame to keep the movie alive. The acting’s also really solid, I don’t quite get the complaint from some people that it’s emotionless. While the delivery is as deadpan as ever, the actors add plenty of emotion though the tone and cadence of their voice. Overall, I think he really needs to stop worrying about topping the scale of his last film, because it’s making him lose focus as a director and writer. It’s enjoyable, but for me it’s his worst next to The Life Aquatic.
6/10
Wes Anderson is not for everyone.
I like Wes Anderson. In fact Life Aquatic is one of my favorite movies and I love Moonlight Kingdom. Asteroid City unfortunately was unwatchable and my honey and I agreed to turn it off after about 15 minutes. Hopefully Wes is not senile and will get his mojo back with the next one… What kind of bird are you?
If you're a fan of Wes Anderson movies, although with all its characteristic style, it's not as good as his other films. If you're not a fan of Wes Anderson, avoid like the plague, you'll definitely will hate this movie.
30 minutes in and we were both saying... What the hell is this and what is it supposed to be?!!
Switched off. It's crap
One of Wes Anderson's most playful films in terms of narrative structure, which looks at the fifties in black and white and furious color. The symmetrical visualization of the asymmetrical story, the composition of the perfect image that recreates the disorder of a story that reflects the postwar obsession with atomic destruction and the arrival of extraterrestrials in a desert recreated in Spain. A cryptic film that talks about many things without apparently saying anything, but above all about the loss and mourning, through the representation of the creative process.
I think it's time I accept that Wes Anderson films maybe just aren't my thing. I really loved The Grand Budapest Hotel, Fantastic Mr Fox, and also Isle of Dogs, albeit to a lesser extent. But every other Wes Anderson film I've watched has just failed to really grip me. Sure, this is an undoubtedly gorgeous and quirky film, but visuals aren't enough to carry an entire film for me. I absolutely adored the scene where the alien came down to collect the asteroid, that was definitely the stand-out scene of the entire film for me. But nothing else throughout the runtime managed to keep me properly engaged. It's a shame, because I'm always excited going into these films, especially considering that they're filled with actors I adore, but they just seem to not click for me more often than not.
A third of what was entertaining to me here is seeing actors who you know are brilliant act bad dialogue badly (and badly act actors badly acting characters badly acting bad dialogue - that's fun).
Another third is Wes Anderson out-Wes-Anderson-troping himself - the movie is one long Wes Anderson parody.
And the other third that works is the actual signature Wes Anderson excellence in palette and soundtrack and set design.
But, like, the actual movie under those technical layers? There was no there there for me, no compelling story or character or idea. It was all very thin.
What I love about other Wes Anderson movies is that the exaggerated technique permits some emotion to be expressed more directly than we'd usually accept. Here there is no apparent emotion. Emotion is deliberately suppressed. The questions of the script are well-trodden questions about what art is for, how we go on, and why we do what we do, and there's nothing fresh in the movie's responses to those questions. No emotion or observation is allowed to hang in the air without an immediate joke. The play-within-a-play is used for the exact same questions about agency and meaning it is typically used for.
For a movie that's this quirky, terrifically little is unexpected.
Still a sensory delight. And there are a number of very funny moments, mainly because all of these actors are geniuses and could captivate me by reading census data, but the comic timing of the editing is also quite good, and the film is stuffed with clever detail.
Verification that incredible creativity, great sets, a bucket list of famous people and great actors doesn't always make a great movie. You still need a good story to tell
Total garbage and a waste of money.
This movie was Wes Anderson to the very brim. It felt like a patina-saturated toy box full of Hollywood stars that didn't go very far in terms of plot, but was effective in being weird, kitschy, and above all, delightful.
all style and no content, skippable
I can understand why a lot of people love this movie, but for me I think there were too many things going on in this movie. Of course the design and production were amazing as always with Wes Anderson movies, but the play within a play idea was a bit too much. I think this also prevented any depth in a lot of the characters since there was simply too many ideas ideas being thrown around.
The colour grading was good.
Something’s happened to Wes Anderson. Somewhere past The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, he slid into a deep, self-indulgent rut that’s made his subsequent films feel like a chore. Excluding the lively Grand Budapest Hotel, a fleeting glimmer of hope, each new entry in his catalog has grown more tediously derivative than the last, a gradual recline into the echo chamber that’s amplified each of his best and worst traits. Asteroid City is just the latest disappointing, star-studded example of that trend.
Make no mistake, the picture looks great. Stuffed with gaudy film techniques, quaint details, incredible color palettes and gorgeous compositions, it makes for a wonderful trailer. Enough to make us think, hey, maybe this time Anderson has finally bucked the monkey and returned to making the kind of quirky, strong-hearted epics that first made us fall in love with him! Not hardly. Three minutes of immediate, nonsensical act-within-a-screenplay-within-a-movie layering was enough to relieve me of that illusion. The rush of ensuing long, dry, same-voiced monologues only reinforced my belief that this auteur has lost his way. This script swings its dialogue like a club. No subtlety, no nuance; eventually it’ll trap the audience and beat it to some degree of stunned, quivering submission.
In strictly superficial terms, Anderson’s work has never been better. Oversaturated desert colors, wacky small-town eccentricities and 1950s pop culture make for a unique visual playground that matches brilliantly with his style. If he could direct his focus there, on the things that make a Wes Anderson movie look and behave the way they do, while hooking up with a well-suited editing or writing partner, I think the results would be spectacular. As it stands, I’m not sure I’ve got the willpower to sit through another one like this.
When people decide to criticize a movie, I wonder sometimes if they're even watching it. It's like the most superficial understanding of an artist's style, the medium, or even just the definition of words like "plot" or "narrative."
This movie absolutely has both. It's light, takes several themes and tropes and turns them into a Wes Anderson celebration. One of the cooler ways it does so is through the music. It's not being ironically "meta" insofar as it's trying to tell two different layers of a story at the same time. And it does so coherently, which is masterful for how often you see the weird mess of people trying to do too much at once or disguise their jaded sensibilities.
If you read the people being critical of this movie, you get the impression they've just been invited into their own broken and empty soul and didn't like what they saw. Ladies and gentleman, that's not the movie. If you're drawing some broad depressingly nihilistic philosophical insight from it, I don't think you've figured out what kind of ride this is. Wes Anderson is cruising through the desert, briefly embroiling in Asteroid City, and carrying on with his life.
Can you say any his work is that complicated or deep? He takes astute assessments of weird aspects regarding the human condition, frames them, colors them, and gives them magical plot points to breathe and dance around. I get the impression if Wes is plaguing people this deeply, Christopher Nolan causes their ears to bleed, but like, during Batman. Too many characters? Have you ever been to a play or opera? Seen Dogville? The more you speculate regarding the creator's motivation, the less you grasp their work (See: My very long diatribes regarding David Lynch.)
I've seen a good portion of Anderson's work, enjoyed Moonrise Kingdom, and found myself remaining curious and mildly smiling throughout this movie. I wanted to hear what they had to say. I wanted to see each actor's interpretation of Wes-Anderson-ness. I think it paces along incredibly well, transitions from the point of view smoothly, doesn't overburden with its plot, and doesn't ask its characters to carry on into a space of overbearing melodrama. It's attention to detail. It's pleasant and confident in its identity and humor. It did a good job. It performed exactly as I hoped it would in preventing myself from watching it at 2x speed. 1.5 for the back half, but not due to quality, but because I think I actually get what his movies are and don't resent him for it.
These new Wes Anderson films look the same picture over and over again to me. I don’t get the simplicity of the dialogues nor the characters’ expressions. It seems an empty film, it has no content, though artistically beautifully directed.
When it's coherent it's fine. But it's not very coherent. I don't care if that's the point, it's just boring. Why should I care about these characters and their interactions with each other? And to take it deeper why should I care about the character's characters? If you're going to give me a fictional documentary you could at least make it digestible like a real one. The way this was done just leaves more questions than answers and more boredom and confusion than anything else.
Stylistically it's neat, some lines are good and some scenes I think I understood. But honestly you're better off just watching something else that's not so far up it's own butt. Might have worked better as a TV show. Either way, don't bother.
I have no idea what the film is even trying to say.
I don't understand the whole story.
In this film, a theater is narrated that does not have a strong story.
Famous and capable actors in the majority of a weak and boring story, I was not satisfied with this movie as a whole
If you haven't seen this movie already you should just go and watch it now.
Visually, quite good. But I think I just didn't understand what was going on. I recently watched a bunch of Wes Anderson movies and liked every single one of them. Grand Budapest Hotel was amazing. I just didn't get this one.
Not my favourite Wes Anderson movie, but certainly has all key elements of his usual work. Its a little heavy in the amount of characters, which since is a theatre play, it multiplies by two: the chracter and the "actor" that plays the chracter. The layers in which the movie unfolds is a bit confusing at times, and doesn't get too deep beyond the main one. The "story" is ok-ish enough. Its an ok Wes movie, but i don't think is even in the top 3
So meta that I think he (and I) missed the point of it all.
I just saw Asteroid City for the second time and had to raise my previous rating by half a star. I appreciated it on my first viewing and really, really liked it on my second. There are so many moments that really pay off on repeat viewings due to the nested nature of the narrative à la Inception and Synecdoche, New York. Although far more whimsical and comedic than those films—I laughed at so many points in each showing that I attended—Asteroid City feels more serious and personal to me than any of Wes Anderson’s other works. The film asks questions such as (but not limited to):
“Why am I here?
What is the meaning of it all?
Why do I do the things I find myself doing?
What is my role in life?
Am I playing my role correctly?
How do I know?”
And the film answers these questions with a soft:
“No one knows. Just keep trying and loving and creating.”
I have a major soft spot for narrative themes regarding the beauty of humanity and of simply enjoying life and people and the earth around us while we still can. And ironically, I think that’s the basic point of this alien movie. Forget about the aliens; don’t worry so much about what’s out there that you neglect what’s right in front of you.
Like me when I'm single: trying to get by on charm alone without enough tension to make things interesting.
I'm an unconditional fan of Wes Anderson and found this post COVID multiple-character study sightly above average.
Liked this as much as some his other films, not as good as his masterpieces but still a solid Wes Anderson film with an amazing cast
A complete waste of time.
Finally, the white people Nope you’ve all been waiting for!
Stunning in Dolby vision. Anderson doesn't ever miss with his set design/colour palettes. This one is a true visual feast. You can tell the actors are enjoying their roles in this. Good humour,
and meta playfulness abound. His work remains an acquired taste that I'm still mid acquisition. Fantastic Mr. Fox at the top, Moonrise Kingdom at the bottom and this in the upper middle class. 7.2.
This cast though :O Looks promising
This amazing cast is wasted by a pretentious director who favors looks over story. So, I’m sitting here trying to decide if this was a complete waste of time or just a medium waste of time. Those are the options.
This movie should have been described as a tragedy, a tragedy that such an outstanding cast of A list actors were wasted on garbage like this! This is definitely one for hard core Wes Anderson fans only and I think even they will find struggle to find anything to praise here. The movie is boring, self-indulgent, unfunny and with virtually no story at all; it is very stylish but this is definitely a case of style alone cannot carry a TOTAL lack of substance. Binned.
This movie should have been described as a tragedy, a tragedy that such an outstanding cast of A list actors were wasted on garbage like this! This is definitely one for hard core Wes Anderson fans only and I think even they will find anything to praise here. The movie is boring, self-indulgent, unfunny and with virtually no story at all; it is very stylish but this is definitely a case of style alone cannot carry a TOTAL lack of substance. Binned.
One of the best movies I watched in 2024
One of the best movies I watched in 2024
One of the best movies I watched in 2024
To quote a totally unrelated film “it makes no damn sense...compels me, though ...”
The strangest of Wes Anderson's films and look we've seen them all, all very Andersonian.
I love his surreal humour
All right, but I would have preferred to see the play
The French Dispatch was pretentious and dull. I had hopes for Anderson's new film... but once again, he has sruck his head up his ass...steroid city and pulled out another abstract farce.
Extremely boring, then again, that's what Wes Andersons vibe is. I haven't been able to watch any Wes Anderson film as I get too bored, I gave him another chance, and yet again bored out my mind. Although I did make it through this one, maybe that's an improvement? It was mainly the cast and Sci fi elements keeping me going, plus I was always waiting for something to happen, and I was always giving it a chance to shine but before I knew it the credits rolled my eyes back into the womb. I would complement the cinematography, but as we all know, Wes Anderson is a master at that.
All in all, the purpose, motive and plot of this film will remain a mystery to me... But Road Runner is a nice distraction. :)
After a while all the modern Wes Anderson movies basically look the same to me. There's certainly upgrades in the cast but other than that, they're all identical
I got 20 minutes into this before switching it off with acute boredom.
I just can’t watch anymore of this overly cute formulaic bullshit. Some arty premise and long establishing shots to draw out the movie and make some point maybe. Throw in some big name stars to usually act out of type. And maybe a story that tries to tie it together or just trick you to keep watching.
But I can’t watch past a five minute still of a road sign cause I’ve seen this same crap in the other movies.
I admire Wes Anderson's unique visual style that people foolishly think they can recreate easily.
I liked the production design and the bright US postcards-like colour palette. But sadly, I didn’t get much out of this. I struggled to connect with the characters and the overall flow of it. I didn’t find the humour funny, and usually, I like Anderson’s comedy.
I got bored watching it, which is sad. I was very disappointed with it.
I didn't know what to expect from 'Asteroid City', yet I got exactly what I expected from this director... Wes Anderson, that!
As usual: love the aesthetic, the exquisite colour palette and the usual Wes vibes. Always fun seeing a bunch of known faces appear throughout. Jason Schwartzman and Scarlett Johansson are the standouts. A fair few others do well too, namely Bryan Cranston and Jeffrey Wright. Steve Carell is amusing in a small role, also.
I've enjoyed some of Anderson's other works much more ('Fantastic Mr. Fox', 'The French Dispatch'), the story didn't totally hook me here if I'm honest, but this one is very much still a good film in my opinion.
As a Wes Anderson fan, I never had a "least favorite Wes Anderson movie"... until now. Instead of artistry combined with quirky take on human spirit, this feels like an attempt to get his trademark cinematic style to carry a film riddled with lazy & incoherent voids.
If you are a Wes Anderson fan, skip it and remain one.
If you never seen a Wes Anderson film, don't make this your first, or it might be your last.
Not the best one from Wes Anderson, a bit slow moving for me
It was a... movie. I think.
Is this a case of naked emperor, where everyone is afraid of telling the emperor that he's in fact naked? I got this in IGN's list of best movies of this year, and several other outlets are also praising this. For what?
WTF is this movie, if you can even call it a movie. I want my time and money back.
A big mess that I wouldn't even call a movie. Waste of big name actors. Stopped watching after 50ish minutes and I wish I could get those minutes back. Terrible, horrible, garbage.
One of the worst movie ever. Do not waste your time. I can't believe Tom Hanks fell for it.
there's always something with a Wes Anderson movie, and i especially like how this one was told as a theater play, with different Acts and so on;
the cast was FULL. colors were good, & Wes's style lovely, as always
i preferred some of his previous work over this one, but it's not bad
The dilemma is not simple. Wes Anderson made this movie completely for his own people. Himself, his favorite actors, loyal fans. Its form will delight critics and cinephiles, but will alienate neophytes. The threshold for entry is not small. On the other hand, the movie is bright and colorful, like a prequel Barbie and gray behind the scenes, funny and cool done. After all, you can’t wake up if you don’t fall asleep?
Possibly the biggest load of shite I have ever witnessed. I would rather watch Barbie on repeat, tied down with a barbed wire covered dildo which is attached to a power drill shoved up my arse on full power.
think i need to watch some more Wes Anderson stuff.
this one is a weird one but yet again mildly soothing
i think i need to watch more Wes Anderson.
as i dont know exactly know how i need to feel about this one....weirdly strange but it soorhs me just fine
...
Wes Anderson truly wants to entertain you, but that's secondary to relating the story he's trying to tell. Sometimes, and certainly in this movie, some of the audience are not interested in the story. For me, Wes is such a good storyteller that I'm paying attention intensely, so that I can hear him. I listened carefully all the way through, but the story was not complete until the very last frame of the credits. If you want to have a wonderful experience, watch the movie again, listen carefully, and as the final credits roll by, listen and hear the message. Oh,the message will be different if you're listening with your heart rather than with your head.
Definitely a very weird and unique movie. As I can appreciate great performances and beautiful visuals this watch was worthwile for me but don‘t expect an engaging story here.
I admire Wes Anderson's distinctive style and meticulous attention to detail. Watching his films feels like drifting through a vibrant painting. However, 'Asteroid City,' despite its talented cast, falls short in terms of depth and a compelling storyline, unlike 'The Grand Budapest Hotel.' To sum it up, it leans more towards style than substance."
Last year's White Noise is this year's Asteroid City. The story is incoherent patchwork but the cinematography is crisp and inviting as always. Today the art was certainly in the eye of this beholder. Tomorrow it likely won't be.
Perhaps the most awaited movie of the period. The waiting was rewarding: very nice film, cinematography and acting very good, not exceptional the main overall plot but still a good storyline with the good dosage of sarcasm and exaggeration. The various intermissions however a bit too difficult to understand at an immediate viewing, a bit penalized for that.
This movie is pretty wild (in an incredibly quirky way). It’s Inception-like but also the polar opposite of Inception. It’s not gonna be for everyone, and that’s okay! It’s a fun ride and if you enjoy cinema you should check this one out based solely on its cinematography and uniqueness.
Rating: 3.5/5 - 80% - Would Recommend
gave up after 20 mins, art house crap
Quirky, weird, and fairly entertaining.
On brand for Wes Anderson. Quirky characters delivering clever dialogue in service of an unconventional narrative against a backdrop of striking visuals. I generally enjoyed the meta story-within-a-story structure, but the ending didn't quite work for me. I liked the character payoffs and arcs, but in terms of the actual story payoff, it felt a bit rushed/random. Luckily, the characters are the more critical element here and I enjoyed the entire ensemble.
Rated a Connor 10, normal 7.2
“I still do not understand the play.”
“It doesn’t matter, just keep telling the story.”
Asteroid City is a whimsical and introspective experience that takes viewers on a journey through the realms of grief, identity, and the longing for belonging, The set designs, vibrant color palettes, and symmetrical compositions is, like all of Anderson’s, a visual fest.
While confronting the complexities of loss, it explores how loss shapes individuals, pushing them to seek connection and solace in unconventional ways. However, what sets it apart is its refusal to provide concrete answers or neatly tie up its thematic threads and put forwards the idea of finding solace amidst all the uncertainties.
Definitely warrants a re- watch soon.
what the ? It can't be a bad script with all the movie stars in it. But I missed the point. Wonderful photo, good but weird acting.
It's a 10 or a 0, don't know yet. Need to watch it again
taxing comfort food, visual masterpiece
A movie about a small town in the desert and an alien sighting somehow speaks more about the human condition that most movies do. In the usual Wes Anderson style of subtle comedy, stiff but effective performances, and a style of pastel and geometry; we see how many chance encounters can lead to people discovering themselves. Likewise, in my life a trip turns into a journey, becomes deeply important to my person and affects the person I become. This is what Asteroid City is to the people in the movie even if it's a story within a story, it does not discount the affect life has on people.
As others had said, this is another fantastic, aesthetically pleasing, comically, brilliant Wes Anderson movie, I loved every single bit of it!
The cast is perfect as always, the multiple storylines convulting simultaneously, the hidden meaning, the Easter eggs, this deserve to be in more teathers honestly.
In my city even when we have close to a hundred movie teathers is probably projecting only in 5 or 6 max
As many had said, this is a m
Simply another brilliant Wes Anderson movie. Crazy set, awesome crew, weird dialogues. Whatever negative they wrote on this movie, simply go and see it in the cinema.
A fantastical dream about the infinite and the meaning of life. Unfortunately that metaphor gets a bit muddled by the framing device
Visually stunning, brilliant use of color and a unique approach to storytelling like no one else. Very solid!
Always the same settings, the same angles, mostly the same characters but I never get bored of Wes Anderson. He always do magic. Highly recommended to watch it in a theater.
Asteroid City is visually beautiful. There are parts that are so good but overall, the film lacks excitement. Most Anderson characters are deadpan, but this story needs more energy.
A play within a show within a story
His most similar to Grand Budapest Hotel. Very Wes Anderson and it of course has his signature style: the meticulous "look at every detail with a magnifying glass" set and visuals, the symmetry in every shot, the vibrant color palette, the rich dialogue and the characters that manage to standout in the middle of all this. Asteroid City takes the form of a western sci-fi drama for a change, which I really appreciated. I'd like Wes to continue branching out into new genres eventually.
Really dug the sci-fi tech gadgets the kids showcased and the alien (best scene in the movie). All the jokes landed I had so many laughs. The characters are all fun, unique and easy to get attached to. They're also greatly amplified by the performances from the actors (they were all amazing). The only problem being there's so many of them that in the endgame it feels like none of them got their due amount of screen time. I wanted more of every one of them. The western music and score was a real treat.
The set is honestly perfection, it looks real but it looks fake. Just enough of the two which makes total sense sinse this is a play within a show but sometimes the actors break out of their characters and reveal their true selves and it's not always so obvious to see at first if it's a lie or the real thing. Because it does such a great job at putting on a facade and because you're constantly being told it's not real I had a complete disconnect emotionally. It doesn't go without saying that the performances from the actors are very emotional though.
It tackles themes and questions such as grief and the meaning of life for most of the runtime but it's all discarded in the third act for some reason and I was left clueless as to what it all meant by the end. Will need a rewatch for that.
Shout by frankwBlockedParent2023-07-30T01:32:26Z
What the actual f**k is this? My partner made me sit through this and it was the worst movie I have seen in years, even worse than a Steven Segal movie!