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Wes Anderson is one of the most acclaimed filmmakers of his generation with his movies consistently getting praise and admiration from professional film critics, and also being routinely placed on “Best of the Year,” and even “Best of the Decade” lists. But, after coming across several of his films for different articles I was writing, I must say, I was not that impressed by what I saw, especially considering all the high rankings Anderson’s movies seem to get.

So, I have decided to dedicate an entire article to Mr. Anderson and his contribution to cinema by going through all of his movies, from his first to his most recent one, and see if they live up to the hype, or if the critics are just showering him with praise for no good reason. So, without further ado, let’s begin!

1. Bottle Rocket (1996)

Bottle Rocket is Anderson’s first film and also the debut of his two long-term collaborators – brothers Owen and Luke Wilson. It was written by Anderson and Owen, as his next two films – Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums.

So, what were my first impressions? Well, it was just a mediocre movie. It didn’t have any memorable scenes, or quotable lines, and the Wilson Brothers didn’t have the screen presence of, let’s say, 90’s comedy legends like Jim Carey or Robin Williams. The movie was a financial failure, but it did receive critical acclaim (for some reason) from many industry professionals.

Now, I’m not saying that Bottle Rocket is a bad film, but it wasn’t a particularly good one either. So what was so worthy of admiration in Bottle Rocket? Why did the critics shower this one with praise?

Beats me.

As I said, it’s just a mediocre movie and also a pretty forgettable one, I might add.

2. Rushmore (1998)

Rushmore was a significant improvement when compared to Anderson’s first movie. Max Fischer (Jason Schwartzman) and Herman Blume (Bill Murray) were much more memorable characters than the Willson brothers in Bottle Rocket. The acting is a lot better and the story is a lot more engaging.

However, the issue I have with Rushmore is that, for such an acclaimed comedy, it didn’t have many laugh-out-loud moments like other 90s classics like Clueless, Groundhog Day, or any of the Jim Carrey films of that decade.

It provided a few laughs here and there, mostly when Max and Blume were destroying each other’s property, but overall, the result felt a bit underwhelming.

So, although superior to Bottle Rocked in every aspect, I feel Rushmore doesn’t deserve to be ranked next to the best comedies of the 90s (like it constantly is). A solid 4-star movie (out of 5), but also, a slightly overrated one.

3. The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)

Just when it looked like Anderson’s and Wilson’s writing was improving after Rushmore, they dropped one of their most overrated efforts. While Rushmore had a few moments of greatness sprinkled across its 90-minute running time, Anderson and Wilson ensured no such moments were to be found here.

Releasing such a boring movie while working with giants like Gene Hackman, Bill Murray, and Anjelica Huston has to be an accomplishment on its own. With the notable exception of some mildly interesting scenes where Gene Hackman teaches Ben Stiller’s children how to be problematic and drive their father crazy, there is little entertainment to be found.

Gwyneth Paltrow and Bill Murray are not here to act but to just emotionlessly say words to the camera, the Wilson brothers are playing the same uninteresting characters they do in every movie they’re in, and Ben Stiller is… well… Ben Stiller.

It’s a comedy-drama that fails on both fronts – there isn’t much laughter to be found here nor does it provide any powerfully emotional moments like a true drama should. How did this movie got proclaimed by the BBC as one of the 100 greatest films of the 21st Century is beyond me.

4. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004)

Upon release, The Life Aquatic bombed at the box office and received only mixed reviews, with many critics calling it the worst Anderson movie until then. I don’t necessarily disagree, although I didn’t notice a significant drop in quality from The Royal Tenenbaums. Both movies were snoozefests, as far as I’m concerned.

In The Life Aquatic, Steve Zissou (Bill Murray) and his crew are on a mission to kill a giant shark (or something), film it, make a documentary about it, and, by doing so, avenge the death of one of the crew members. They also wear these stupid red beanies for some reason. The only good thing that stood out to me from the entire film was Cate Blanchett’s excellent acting.

But, even though the contemporary reviews were spot on, years after the film’s release the critics finally remembered that they were always supposed to be kissing Wes Anderson’s ass and proclaiming everything he ever releases to be a mindblowing masterpiece, and so, The Life Aquatic got a completely unnecessary critical re-evaluation and is now being regarded as one of the most underrated movies of the decade and (you guessed it!) – a mindblowing masterpiece.

5. The Darjeeling Limited (2007)

Although the two previous Wes Anderson films were dull as hell, Bill Murray and Gene Hackman still managed to provide a few laughs here and there, making sure you at least won’t fall asleep while watching the movie.

In Darjeeling Limited, however, there are no legends like Hackman and Murray to save the day (although Bill Murray appears only briefly in the beginning), and we’re stuck with a very tedious ensemble of long-time Anderson collaborators Owen Wilson and Jason Schwartzman, joined by Academy Award winner Adrien Brody.

They play three brothers on a journey through India, trying to find their mother (Anjelica Huston) who is not very enthusiastic about their visit (and judging by how boring these three were, I don’t blame her). They argue a lot, they do some spiritual stuff, they say some unfunny things, they argue some more… the end.

Out of all the uneventful and dull Anderson films, this one might take the cake. But, of course, because it’s an Anderson film, you just know it had to get many positive reviews upon release and end on numerous “Best of the Year” lists for no reason whatsoever.

6. Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)

Wait, what?!!! A Wes Anderson movie that’s actually deserving of all the praise?! That’s right! I’m not just being a hater and talking crap about Anderson no matter what he releases! I wanted this to be a fair and balanced article instead of just a hit piece on Anderson and, credit where credit is due, Fantastic Mr. Fox is nothing short of, well, fantastic!

I must admit when I was going through Adnerson’s filmography, and based on what I’ve seen so far, I expected Mr. Fox to be just as underwhelming as most of his material, but I was pleasantly surprised. Based on the popular 1970 children’s book of the same name, Fantastic Mr. Fox is an excellent family film and the first in Anderson’s filmography that’s 100% worthy of the acclaim it received.

It’s filled with tons of laugh-out-loud moments and lots of excellent characters, and the story is engaging from start to finish. There is not a dull moment to be found here! It’s almost unfathomable that it was written by the same guys who wrote Steve Zissou (Anderson and Baumbach) only four years ago. Recommended!

7. Moonrise Kingdom (2012)

And we’re back to the overrated stuff. By this time, every main Wes Anderson character is written exactly like Margot Tenenbaum – Gwyneth Paltrow’s character in The Royal Tenenbaums. Child actors Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward don’t even look like they’re acting; they just emotionlessly recite their lines to each other, acting more like robots than actual human beings.

This, however, is not the actors’ fault as Wes Anderson has demanded this ” non-acting ” style from all his leads since 2001. I guess, he thinks this is quirky or something.

It’s a shame, because Moonrise Kingdom actually had a great story to tell, but it would have been a lot more effective if someone else directed the movie and showed more of the runaway children’s personalities, instead of them having that one emotionless expression for almost the entirety of the film.

And, of course, because it’s a Wes Anderson movie, you just know it had to be showered with praise from the get-go and was even proclaimed as one of the greatest movies of the 20th Century by BBC. What a surprise.

8. The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)

We all know by now that Wes Anderson’s most recognizable feature as a director is his unique visual style, and when it comes to the visuals, The Grand Budapest Hotel is indisputably the pinnacle of his achievements. The entire film is very pleasing to the eyes, feeling like a 100-minute trip through Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory despite all the dark subject themes (fascism, murder, animal cruelty, decapitation, etc).

The acting, on the other hand, was a bit of a mixed bag. Adrien Brody is pretty good as a villain and it seemed Ralph Fiennes practically carries the entire movie on his shoulders, but the film also had some underdeveloped characters – we didn’t even get to know Zero (Tony Revolori) and Agatha (Saoirse Ronan) as they barely had any lines during their entire screen time, and their personalities were never really allowed to shine.

And, of course, the humor.

I watched this movie two times before writing this review and didn’t laugh once. Grand Budapest is an adventure, a drama, but first and foremost, it’s supposed to be a comedy! And I still don’t know what’s supposed to be so funny about Ralph Fiennes yelling “Take your hands off my lobby boy,” or William Dafoe throwing Jeff Goldblum’s cat out the window, and what’s the deal with Saoirse Ronan having a birthmark in the shape of Mexico across her cheek.

It’s like this guy (Anderson) only makes humor for either hipsters or some other specific group of people to understand and giggle while everyone else scratches their heads, trying to figure out what’s the catch.

9. Isle of Dogs (2018)

Isle of Dogs is Aderson’s second stop-motion animated picture and, after seeing Fantastic Mr. Fox, my expectations were a bit higher for this one than for his live-action films. So, was it as good as Mr. Fox?

Well… no.

It did have some fun characters, there were quite a few laugh-out-loud moments, and the Japanese dystopian story was quite innovative, but, overall, it just wasn’t as memorable as Mr. Fox.

It was a solid three-and-a-half-star (out of five) effort, and I would recommend it if you want a quirky comedy with a few surprising twists along the way, but don’t expect anything mind-blowing.

10. The French Dispatch (2021)

By this point, Anderson’s films were becoming more and more predictable. You know exactly how they will visually look, and what the acting is going to be like. You also know that you will get that insufferable narrator who inundates you with uninteresting facts about the setting and the characters while using C2-level English words to sound a lot smarter than he actually is.

Seriously, why does Anderson have to do this with EVERY SINGLE film he releases? How is it possible that people are not sick of it by now? It’s just getting more and more annoying if watch his movies in chronological order.

The French Dispatch is a collection of three uninteresting stories happening in post-WWII France, featuring a plethora of uninteresting characters having uninteresting conversations – all of them acting like every character in every Anderson movie ever: Just emotionlessly saying words to each other or to the camera while being unfunny as hell.

The only thing this movie excels at is Anderson’s visual and directing style.

And, of course, take a wild guess whether the film got overwhelmingly positive reviews for no reason whatsoever and ended up on the numerous best-of lists by the end of the year.

11. Asteroid City (2023)

Imagine the most by-the-book Anderson movie filled with all of his cliches, with all the usual actors he constantly works with, with the addition of Tom Hanks and Scarlett Johanson, and you’ll get Asteroid City.

Let’s see:

  • The unnecessary narrator (Bryan Cranston) who opens the film and just tells us what happens on the screen, as if we cannot figure that out on our own? Check!
  • Actors whose “acting” consists of just saying things in a monotone voice without ever changing their facial expressions? Check!
  • Everyone speaking exactly the same way in that needlessly complex C2-level English so they can sound smart? Check!
  • Those cartoonish visuals aggressively signaling that the movie happens in a Hollywood studio instead of in the “real world?” Check!
  • “Humor” that doesn’t really make you laugh? Check!
  • A plot that doesn’t really go anywhere? Check!

And, of course:

  • High praise from professional film critics drooling over the film, calling it “groundbreaking,” or a “masterpiece” or any of the usual buzz words? Check!
  • The film appearing on all the “best-of-the-year” lists by all the major film publications? Check!

Yeah… this is how you know it’s a Wes Anderson movie, alright.

Conclusion

By this point, I don’t even have to watch any of Anderson’s future movies. I know when it comes to the plot, the structure, the acting (and the lack of it), and the humor (and the lack of it) they’ll be practically copy-pasted from his previous films, and that, despite this, every single one of them will be showered with praise from professional critics and will be proclaimed one of the best movies of the year by all the major publications. It’s so predictable it’s almost funny.

I also won’t be surprised if Wes Anderson turns out to be an industry plant. There was something fishy about his first movie, Bottle Rocket – how can a director lose money with his debut feature and launch his career simultaneously?

Usually, when you prove yourself to be a financial failure, Hollywood wouldn’t want to hear from you again, however, not only did Anderson’s career not go down the drain, but the very next year he was working with Hollywood greats like Bill Murray and Brian Cox. It really makes you think.

To summarise, In my humble opinion, the only one of Anderson’s films that deserved the acclaim it got was Fantastic Mr. Fox. Rushmore and Isle of Dogs, were just OK movies, and The Grand Budapest Hotel was practically saved by Ralph Fiennes, but everything else was overrated as hell.

Anderson has his own signature visual style that he perfected over the years, but that alone is not enough for his films to be routinely proclaimed masterpieces. All his characters talk and act the same, and when it comes to the humor, well… let’s just say I went through all of his filmography and I laughed less than 11 times (the number of feature films he has released, as of this writing).

Let me finish with this piece of dialogue from The French Dispatch, where Adrien Brody presents the first modern art painting to his colleagues:

Bob Balaban: Modern Art?

Adrien Brody: Modern art – our specialty, starting now!

Henry Winkler: I don’t get it.

Adrien Brody: Of course you don’t!

Winkler: I’m I too old?

Brody: Of course, you are!

Balaban: Why is this good?

Brody: It isn’t good. Wrong idea!

Winkler: That’s no answer!

Brody: My point [exactly]!

They might as well have been talking about Anderson’s filmography. If you think about it, Wes Anderson’s movies really are the equivalent of modern art in cinema.

I mean, how do you distinguish a good Anderson movie from a bad one? A great one from a mediocre one? They’re all the same at this point. If there ever was a time when it would be appropriate to use the term “artsy” as an insult, it would be while describing an Anderson film.

Anyway, thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed the article. So, have a nice day, and if you are a fan of Anderson’s work, I hope you didn’t take anything personally. Cheers!