We all know that Wes Anderson’s upcoming venture Asteroid City has been in some controversy. For the most part is because the film was rated R by the censor board when it was first inspected. Anderson immediately lodged an appeal at the MPAA’s Appeals Board. 3 months later, Next Best Picture’s Will Mavity shares that Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City has managed to drop the R-Rating and now has a mature family friendly PG-13 rating. This decision was taken by the MPAA board after a two months reviewing process. The updated rating description states, “brief graphic nudity, smoking, and some suggestive material.” Now that everything is settled, the film premiered at Cannes Film Festival a few days back. The critics present in attendance seem to have interesting and varying opinions about the film. Let’s find out what they’re saying.
Asteroid City Reviews Round-Up: A Fragmented, Messed-Up Masterpiece?
Jo-Ann Titmarsh (London Evening Standard) – “Though it seems as light as a soufflé, this is more substantial fare than Anderson has been dishing out recently. It merits second, and possibly third, helpings.” Original Score: 4/5
Peter Howell (Toronto Star) – “It’s a very good thing for fans of the filmmaker, who adore Anderson’s idiosyncratic storytelling, quirky casting and obsessive production design.” Original Score: 3/4
Robbie Collin {Daily Telegraph (UK)} – “Asteroid City reminds you that Anderson remains what he’s always been, despite what the AI bros might have you believe: completely inimitable.” Original Score: 4/5
Bilge Ebiri (New York Magazine/Vulture) – “There has always been a method to Wes Anderson’s madness, but Asteroid City reminds you that there is also a madness to his method. And that, ultimately, is what makes him a great artist.”
Esther Zuckerman (The Daily Beast) – “Asteroid City has all of the ticks that make Anderson Anderson: The slow pans, the deliberate framing, the erudite dialogue, and a narrator to boot. It’s also his best film since 2014’s The Grand Budapest Hotel.”
Richard Lawson (Vanity Fair) – “At its best, Asteroid City evokes the memory of what it was to first see a Wes Anderson film, surprised and delighted by its singular vision of life on Earth.”
Ed Potton {Times (UK)} – “Is the director referring to the importance of forgetting your cynicism and surrendering to the whimsy? If so, where do I sign?” Original Score: 4/5
Steve Pond (TheWrap) – “It looks amazing, of course, but it might well be the least involving movie he’s ever made, with an amazing cast providing little but momentary distraction.”
John Nugent (Empire Magazine) – “It is occasionally a bit unfocused, and always a bit indulgent. If you don’t like The Wes Anderson Film, you won’t like this. But we others must hope he keeps making it.” Original Score: 4/5
Geoffrey Macnab {Independent (UK)} – “In its own offbeat way, Asteroid City is an Anderson patchwork of Cold War paranoia and American family values in all their often hypocritical glory. It is every bit as arch as his best work, while still managing to tug hard on the heartstrings.” Original Score: 5/5
Todd McCarthy (Deadline Hollywood Daily) – “A madly quirky surprise that oozes creativity at every turn. At the same time, however, it sometimes seems to be reaching for serious creative epiphanies that aren’t forthcoming and which foster puzzlement rather than insight.”
Peter Bradshaw (Guardian) – “Asteroid City’s eccentricity, its elegance, its gaiety, and its sheer profusion of detail within the tableau frame make it such a pleasure. So, too, does its dapper styling of classic American pop culture.” Original Score: 4/5
David Rooney (Hollywood Reporter) – “For a movie so curiously weightless it seems awfully pleased with itself, its moments of magic evaporating almost instantaneously.”
Owen Gleiberman (Variety) –“Asteroid City looks smashing, but as a movie it’s for Anderson die-hards only, and maybe not even too many of them.”
David Ehrlich (indieWire) –“A film that sneaks up on you — that fools you into thinking it’s just a scattershot collection of discrete little details and gags… But the deeper this movie disappears into itself, the more its play-like rhythms begin to create their own rhymes.” Original Score: A
Asteroid City has an immensely talented cast starting with Tom Hanks, Margot Robbie, Scarlett Johnson, Maya Hawke, Sophia Lillis, Tony Revolori, Edward Norton, Adrien Brody, Steve Carell, Bryan Cranston, Jake Ryan, Tilda Swinton, Hong Chau, Jeff Goldblum, Willem Dafoe, Jeffrey Wright and ending with Jason Schwartzman.
Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City will release in theatres near you on 16th June 2023.
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