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USA Today
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- USA Today
We rank every Wes Anderson movie. How does 'The Phoenician Scheme' compare?
We rank every Wes Anderson movie. How does 'The Phoenician Scheme' compare? Show Caption Hide Caption 'The Phoenician Scheme' trailer: Benicio del Toro is a wanted man Benicio del Toro plays an industrialist with plenty of rivals and a plan to build a grand project in Wes Anderson's "The Phoenician Scheme." You know immediately when you're watching a Wes Anderson film. The signature imagery, the eccentricity, the wide camera shots, the usual suspects (from Bill Murray to Owen Wilson) – all are hallmarks of Anderson's cinematic work. And over the last three decades, the Oscar-nominated auteur has made movies about dysfunctional families, thieving buddies, an island of stray dogs, young kids in love, an adventurous hotel lobby boy and many more colorful personalities. In the filmmaker's latest all-star effort "The Phoenician Scheme" (in select theaters now, nationwide June 6), Benicio del Toro plays a wealthy businessman targeted for assassination, who makes his nun daughter (Mia Threapleton, Kate Winslet's daughter) the heir to his company and fortune. In honor of this quirky new work, we're ranking all of the director's outings: Join our Watch Party! Sign up to receive USA TODAY's movie and TV recommendations right in your inbox 13. 'Bottle Rocket' (1996) Luke and Owen Wilson star as friends who plan to pull off a bunch of heists before joining the gang of a criminal landscaper (James Caan) until one of them falls in love with a hotel maid. Anderson's first film – and the debut for both Wilson brothers – is rough around the edges but the talent potential for all three is there from the beginning. 12. 'The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou' (2004) Bill Murray plays the Jacques Cousteau-esque title character, a famed oceanographer and documentarian who seeks the jaguar shark that once killed his best friend. The very strange quest for his "white whale" even includes a love triangle between Zissou, a pregnant reporter (Cate Blanchett) and a man (Owen Wilson) claiming to be his son. 11. 'Asteroid City' (2023) The sci-fi dramedy is pretty out there, even for an Anderson jam. Featuring kicky period tunes and fantastic production design, the film stars Jason Schwartzman, Scarlett Johansson and others as parents of talented kids who gather for a science convention and are quarantined by the government when a UFO shows up. But that's only half the story, as "City" has a tale-within-the-tale that distracts from the narrative more than it deepens. 10. 'Isle of Dogs' (2018) Anderson pays tribute to Japanese cinema and the scrappy nature of underdogs in this whimsical stop-motion animated comedy. A dog flu leads a metropolis to banish pooches (voiced by Bill Murray, Edward Norton and more) to an island full of trash, and an orphan boy seeking his best friend befriends a grumpy stray (voiced by Bryan Cranston). 9. 'The Darjeeling Limited' (2007) A year after their father's death, a trio of estranged brothers (Adrien Brody, Owen Wilson and Jason Schwartzman) meet up for a spiritual journey/train ride through India. They bicker, fight, save some folks and seek out their mercurial mom (Anjelica Huston) in the Himalayas on a humorous but thoughtful trip of sibling reconnection. 8. 'The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar' (2023) There are worse things than a winsome Ralph Fiennes introducing Roald Dahl's beloved prose to a younger generation. Playing Dahl himself, he shares the story of Henry Sugar (Benedict Cumberbatch), a wealthy British man who schemes to see without using his eyes in order to win millions at blackjack − and instead, he makes a life-changing discovery. 7. 'The Phoenician Scheme' (2025) After his latest frequent brush with death, infamous arms dealer Zsa-Zsa Korda (Benicio del Toro) makes estranged nun daughter Liesl his sole heir. With Norwegian insect nerd Bjorn (Michael Cera), they embark on a plan to build Zsa-Zsa's grand infrastructure project but also anger friends and foes alike. While the absurd shenanigans are fun, the real joy is watching a delightful del Toro and refreshing Threapleton navigating the oddly heartfelt family reconnection. 6. 'Moonrise Kingdom' (2012) Young talent shines in Anderson's splendid 1965-set love story. The coming-of-age romance centers on two 12-year-olds – a lonely scout (Jared Gilman) and a troublemaking girl (Kara Hayward) – who run away to a New England island, with the scout's troop leader (Edward Norton) and girl's parents (Bill Murray and Frances McDormand) in hot pursuit. 5. 'The Royal Tenenbaums' (2001) Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Stiller and Luke Wilson star as genius siblings who garner fame and renown as kids yet face lackluster adulthoods. Gene Hackman hijacks the movie as their estranged father, who shows up claiming to have terminal cancer in the bittersweet and drolly hilarious dramedy – which is, for many, Anderson's signature work. 4. 'Fantastic Mr. Fox' (2009) Anderson's first foray into stop-motion is his animated masterpiece, a brilliantly charming effort with George Clooney voicing the title character. Mr. Fox steals local food and produce to feed his family (including Meryl Streep as Mrs. Fox), but running afoul of three very dangerous farmers endangers his friends and his marriage. 3. 'The French Dispatch' (2021) An excellent ode to New Wave cinema and oddball reporters, the film follows three stories in the final issue of the titular journal, including tales of an incarcerated painter (Benicio del Toro) and a student revolutionary (Timothée Chalamet). And while he's barely in the film, Bill Murray is the beating heart playing the beloved French Dispatch editor. 2. 'Rushmore' (1998) Anderson's Hollywood breakthrough was this stellar coming-of-age comedy with Jason Schwartzman, in his film debut, as an idiosyncratic teenager who befriends a wealthy businessman (Bill Murray). Yet the pair become rivals for the affections of a widowed first-grade teacher (Olivia Williams) and engage in some great one-upmanship shenanigans. 1. 'The Grand Budapest Hotel' (2014) Anderson's most multifaceted film is this wonderful and wild gem with comedy, adventure, mystery, action, high drama and themes of war and friendship. Zero (Tony Revolori) is a bellhop at a famous European hotel who goes on the lam with his concierge boss (Ralph Fiennes) and falls in love with a kind baker (Saoirse Ronan) in a madcap story that also involves a rare Renaissance painting and the rise of a fascist empire.
Euronews
30-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Euronews
Film of the Week: 'The Phoenician Scheme' - Wes Anderson's empty shell
After three decades delighting audiences with ornamental eccentricities and highly stylised aesthetics, is Wes Anderson now simply recycling his same old tricks? Worse, has he forgotten that immersive world-building becomes the crafting of empty shells without precious emotional payoffs? On the back of 2023's Asteroid City and judging by this year's offering, it's a frustrating 'yes' on both counts. Set in 1950, The Phoenician Scheme starts off with a bang. Literally. Corrupt tycoon Anatole 'Zsa-zsa' Korda (Benicio Del Toro), one of the richest men in Europe, is attempting to survive his latest assassination attempt and escape from his sixth plane crash. It's an incredibly promising way to kick things off: explosions, blood, the surprise ejecting of a useless pilot... It's a blast. Once he's come to terms with the fact that his enemies may soon punch his ticket, the industrialist visits his estranged daughter Liesl (Mia Threapleton) and tells her that she is to be his sole heir. Despite his other nine boys. After entrusting his empire to Liesl, who is training to become a nun and whose pious reservations regarding her father's less-than-ethical practices run deep, Korda enlists her to aid him in his latest business venture. Considering the government is planning to sabotage his most audacious project yet in the fictional country of Phoenicia – the details of which he has neatly contained within shoeboxes – he plans a whistle stop tour to visit investors and donors to collect promised advances on the project. Along for the racketeering ride is Bjorn (Michael Cera, who was born to be a perfect addition to the Andersoniverse).He's a Norwegian tutor specialising in the insect world, who may not be as scholarly or as bumbling as he seems... The trio embark on a fast-paced trip that features glorified cameos from dandies Leland (Tom Hanks) and Reagan (Bryan Cranston), a fez-wearing nightclub owner named Marseilles Bob (Matthieu Amalric), American sailor Marty (Jeffrey Wright) and Cousin Hilda (Scarlett Johansson), all the way to the final-level boss - the dastardly Uncle Nubar (a bearded and bushy eyebrowed Benedict Cumberbatch). This all sounds good on paper, but despite a promising pre-credits kick-off and a pleasing pace which lulls you into thinking that dire Asteroid City was a minor mishap and that The Phoenician Scheme could very well be a return to form for Anderson, this latest flight of fancy ends up frustratingly shallow. The rapid-fire and hyper-articulated dialogue falls flat; the starry roll-call of A-listers is wasted; the insistent gag about offering each investor a souvenir hand grenade becomes bizarrely tiresome; and unlike previous offerings The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou, The Grand Budapest Hotel or Fantastic Mr. Fox, nothing registers on an emotional level. As joyful as it is to see Benicio Del Toro playing a nonchalant capitalist with redemption (ish) on the mind, he is given precious little in terms of character evolution – especially when compared to similar Anderson archetypes previously played by Bill Murray, Ralph Fiennes and George Clooney in the three aforementioned (and far superior) adventures. These films had heart and emotional payoffs to match the delightfully offbeat and twee antics. All we get here is twee. Not that Wesheads will be left wanting. They'll still have a great time marveling at production designer Adam Stockhausen's craft, with the impeccably manicured sets and Anderson's devotion to symmetry still a visual treat to behold. But not even an amusing blink-and-you'll-miss-him cameo from Bill Murray playing God during one of the Bergman-esque afterlife segments or Anderson newcomer Mia Threaplton stealing every scene she's in with her spot-on deadpan delivery ('They say you murdered my mother. I feel the need to address this') can save The Phoenician Scheme. Like Anderson's recent output (minus the messy but unfairly maligned The French Dispatch), his latest caper lacks the emotional core that ought to complement the stylish visuals. The director may tick off his treasured hallmarks – precise framing, immaculate detail, neglectful parents seeking their warped version of absolution – but it lacks soul, to the point of toppling into parody. So, while not as pleased with itself as Asteroid City was, this brisker and more linear adventure still gives off the impression that Anderson and his regular co-writing compadre Roman Coppola are simply keen to enjoy themselves more than their audience. Anderson may have become a genre onto himself, but considering The Phoenician Scheme ends up joining Asteroid City as one of his least rewarding films to date, the master of the meticulously crafted confection should do well to remind himself the following: sacrificing human depth in favour of quirk for quirk's sake will only make audience members nostalgic for his older and far less empty spectacles. Even The French Dispatch apologists. The Phoenician Scheme is out in cinemas now.
