I'm gonna go out on a limb here and call those first two animated Spider-Man movies the best Spider-Man related audiovisual media out there. Spectacular Spider-Man is an amazing series too, but those movies are downright GORGEOUS. From all the little visual details to the amazing scenery, the kinetic action and the clever plotting and writing - there's very little to criticize. The sequel even manages to up the ante in the humor department. Looking forward to the third one next year.
What can I say? I have a soft-spot for Wes Anderson movies. So I'm far from unbiased here. But I enjoyed it a lot. What I've been seeing throughout his latest two movies (the previous one being The French Dispatch) is a director who's gotten so confident in his visual style and particular type of storytelling, that he's willing to take chances that might put off some people but really cater to others.
Anderson's interest in the media - be it print media or as is the case here, stage plays, has taken the driver's seat in the last few years. He's crafted another loving homage to a medium that seems antiquated to some. If anything bogs it down a bit, it's the sheer scope he's going for here. There are so many characters in there he clearly intends to have some sort journey that in the grand scheme of things it might be a bit muddled. Given some very meta-observations within the movie, this might have been at least partly intentional though. The jury's still out on whether the themes were established stringently enough or if they were a tad undercooked. A re-watch will help.
However, what is there is gorgeously shot, really well-acted and just really charming in its embrace of camp. And the themes touched upon - being stuck in limbo, loneliness and not quite being able to "figure life out" are certainly timely ones that are bound to strike a chord with quite a few.
Anderson movies always had a very particular look to them, but it's noticeable just how many layers have been added to his scene compositions over the years. It's astounding how much is going on on the screen simultanously in Asteroid City. It's a spectacle. That alone is worth the price of admission.