Title – Asteroid City (2023)

Director – Wes Anderson (Bottle Rocket) 

Cast – Jason Schwartzman, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hanks, Jeffrey Wright, Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton

Plot – A ragtag collection of junior competitors and adult bystanders of a junior stargazing event being held in the isolated rural town of Asteroid City find their lives forever changed by the appearance of something not of this world. 

“I’m a late bloomer. So I’ve been told by my parents”

Review by Eddie on 10/08/2023

Asteroid City feels like the type of movie one would make if they were trying to but found themselves failing in their attempts to make a Wes Anderson film, the problem being here is that in fact Wes Anderson is behind the camera of this colourful yet emotionally empty affair, an offering that lacks the engaging characters and wit that has made Anderson a beloved filmmaker the world over.

Featuring an as too be expected name brand cast, a directional style that Anderson has been operating in since his debut Bottle Rocket in the mid 90s and a quirky bunch of characters in equally quirky situations, in many ways Asteroid City encompasses all the elements that you’d usually associate with an Anderson jaunt but there is very little to hold onto here throughout a layered narrative that fails to bring home all of its elements into an entertaining whole. 

Marketed as a film centred around a small barren township that has come alive during a junior stargazing event that then in turn becomes something else entirely when a visitor from out of this world makes itself apparent, Asteroid City is more concerned with Jason Schwartzman’s grieving father Augie Steenbeck, who’s a fictional character in an esteemed playwrights play, becoming something of a proxy of Anderson himself to explore his own fears and overcomings which isn’t a bad thing in itself, just that he seemingly forgot to include all the quality hallmarks of his best works in his newest outing. 

Asteroid City is that strange case of a film that on face value appears to have all the right ingredients to give audiences what they want from such a film but unlike Anderson’s most popular works such as the dark but effective The Royal Tenenbaums, the whimsical Fantastic Mr. Fox or the box office heavyweight that ended up being The Grand Budapest Hotel, Asteroid City is devoid of any truly interesting threads, an interesting character or comedic situations that bring the laughs and in being neither a gripping character study or fish out of water comedy with an extra terrestrial spin, Anderson’s latest is a misguided outing that is going to leave many casual audience goers cold. 

It’s hard to fault the way the film has been put together, as usual in a production sense Asteroid City is as good as any of Anderson’s recent films and his talented cast all appear committed to the cause but as the film enters into its latter stages then the credits begin to roll, it doesn’t take long to realise that throughout the movies 100 minute running time you enjoyed the scenery and the novelty of such an artistic offering but were unable to connect in any other way, making Asteroid City one of Anderson’s most significant high profile misses of his career. 

Final Say – 

It has the look, the feel and the possibilities of a typical Wes Anderson film but Asteroid City is devoid of the memorable characters and oddball situations that have made so many prior Anderson films so beloved, making this one of the years most disappointing releases.

2 vending machines out of 5