What's not to like about Bill Murray? Well i suppose if you are a producer in Hollywood you don't like that despite his star-power, this movie lost more than $ 20 million for the studio. However, like many hidden gems it has developed a cult following over the years and is now viewed far more favorably than when it was released.

The film was dedicated to Jacques Cousteau and if you know anything about Cousteau it becomes evident very early on that this is precisely what the film is attempting to mimic... although in a far more ridiculous sense.

The plot centers around Steve Zissou and his crew who have traveled the world documenting the world's oddities in and around the sea. The discoveries they make are surreal to the point where one reporter suggests they are fake (they obviously are fake, but that is the directing style of Wes Anderson - love it or hate it.) Their latest project is to hunt down and kill the ferocious Jaguar Shark, which killed Zissou's best friend and chief diver, Esteban.

While doing a press release about his upcoming journey he is approached by a young(er) pilot named Ned Plimpton, whose mother recently passed away and he believes that Steve Zissou is his father. Ned leaves his job as an airline pilot and also agrees to spend his inheritance on the Zissou project.

To reveal other parts of the movie would ruin the plot but to be honest there really isn't much of one. There are multiple setbacks on their journey including being kidnapped by Filipino pirates and the film kind of relies on Bill Murray's dry humor to carry the storyline. In many ways it fails but just like any other cult classic, the movie somehow becomes better after a second or third viewing.

This movie can move slowly at times and I think that is why it was relatively universally panned when it was released in 2004. The star-studded lineup of Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Cate Blanchett, Jeff Goldblum, Anjelica Huston, and even William Dafoe (one of my personal favorites) wasn't enough to bring out the people to the cinemas and I guess this goes to show that just because you have an all-star lineup, doesn't necessarily mean the project is going to be a success.

I enjoyed it, but I think you need to appreciate Wes Anderson's style to really get on board with this one. Being familiar with Cousteau probably wouldn't hurt as well. Overall, i would say it is worth seeing, but certainly not legendary.