The art of the hotel is really cool, and so is the unexpected murder mystery twist in the hotel's backstory. However, the former may be a tad bit more interesting. Not that I didn't want to know how the story would resolve, but I just felt that, as a period piece, it would have been more entertaining if told through a different style. Anderson has a tendency to alienate his audiences through his too structured and thought-out direction. You feel like nothing just flows organically and that his hands are all over everything that you see. It definitely looks like a film that you SHOULD like, but you never end up truly liking it quite that much.
That aside, the technical aspects are close to flawless. The acting is superb, the set pieces are extraordinary, and the dialogue is excellent. The escape sequences and the shootouts definitely keep this film out of boredom territory and really keep the audience involved. I do wish, however, that there was more attachment to the characters. Not that there was none, but compared to how on-point everything else was, you expect to fall in love with the characters at that same level. Much similar to my sentiments about American Hustle.
All of the aesthetics definitely raise up the rating on this one and prevent it from ending up in the 70-80 range.
Twizard Rating: 86
