Review by dnkqbzw

Although I found Astroid City to be enjoyable to watch & thought provoking, I did not find it half as funny as the rest of my theater. Wes Anderson's first truly sci-fi movie shines in a way many modern sci-fi movies fail, by not saying or explaining everything out loud. The movie's strengths lie in its questioning, a non-circular plot, and evaluation of grief.

This cast shines but the character development was especially uneven for what I come to expect with a Wes Anderson film. For a man who can make The French Dispatch, a collection of short stores, with such powerful individual characters, the supporting characters could've been done better.

I found Schwartzman & Johansson excellently paired with an awkwardly strong chemistry to match Anderson's often deadpan tone. Steve Carrell & Tom Hanks are given the best comedic roles and deliver the funniest lines of the film.

Anderson's ability to showcase childhood love is woven more subtly into this plot with a standout performance by Jake Ryan, who plays Woodrow, Schwartzman's character's son. The science experiment fair type thing was a fun plot device and not familiar for the sci-fi genre. The child acting in this movie is very strong.

This is not my #1 Wes Anderson movie but I had fun and enjoyed it.