Team Zissou navigates smoothly onto DVD

I've been hearing some disconcerting criticisms of Wes Anderson being bandied about lately. Mostly that he's becoming a one-trick pony whose films are in a tragicomic rut while becoming less and less likable and always seeming to feature Bill Murray as a sad sack. To me, that's like calling Stanley Kubrick a one trick pony for his use of tracking shots or getting on Wes Craven's case for making another horror film. Leave the man to work his magic; the magic is on fine display in "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou."\nMurray plays a sad sack once again, but this time he's Captain Steve Zissou, commander of his vessel, the Belafonte, and leader of a ragtag group of aquatic adventurers mostly bent on chasing down a shark that killed his old friend and confidant. The role allows Murray, now at the pinnacle of his career, to chew scenery with his mere physical presence, and his demeanor throughout the film is one of despondence with a sardonic smile. While critics generally panned the film upon its initial release, it's possible they were just reacting to the goings-on with the same malaise that is "Zissou's" trademark, not bothering to dig up the subtext. Regardless, "The Life Aquatic" bristles with a brand of eccentric humor that no other director seems to be dabbling in these days (other than Jared Hess's feeble and irritating attempt to copycat Anderson with "Napoleon Dynamite"), and for that he should be commended.\nBuena Vista, by way of the Criterion Collection, offers a one-disc version of the film for casual fans, but true Wes Anderson devotees would be wise to pick up the real Criterion two-disc affair, featuring the same director and co-writer commentary track as the one-disc version, but with a second disc loaded with, among many other things, 10 amusing deleted scenes, an intimate making-of documentary directed by Albert Maysles, the entire set of David Bowie songs performed in Portuguese by Seu Jorge and Eric Chase Anderson's quirkily endearing and plentiful box art that's already familiar to owners of the special edition "Rushmore" and "The Royal Tenenbaums" releases.\n"The Life Aquatic" is certainly not for everyone, least of all those who prefer conventional comedies concerning characters identifiable to their own lives. This "Life" is chock full of quirks and filled to the brim with the sort of hip irony and mathematically precise cinematography that some revel in and others scoff at. All of Wes Anderson's films have concerned themselves with admirable failures, unconventional and reluctant father figures, and the unmistakable pervasiveness of a quiet, slightly sad resignation of once-great lives gone sour. "The Life Aquatic" is a continuation of these themes, and along with its gorgeously vibrant production design and a punchy script, it's a serious contender for Anderson's finest film.