Asteroid City: Scarlett Johansson film 'stylish but lacks substance', say critics

Critics person hailed Wes Anderson's star-studded caller movie Asteroid City arsenic "stylish" but lacking substance.

The sci-fi homage sees a inferior stargazer normal disrupted by world-changing events.

A bus-load of its stars, including Tom Hanks and Scarlett Johansson, were successful orbit astir the film's premiere astatine the Cannes Film Festival connected Tuesday

Oscar-winner histrion Hanks walked the reddish carpet with his wife, histrion and shaper Rita Wilson.

Black Widow prima Johansson, meanwhile, was determination with her hubby - Saturday Night Live comedian Colin Jost.

Asteroid City sees Johansson pb an ensemble formed of Hollywood royalty, including Hanks - a newcomer to Anderson's celluloid satellite - Tilda Swinton and Jason Schwatzman.

The movie besides stars Edward Norton, Jeff Goldblum, Margot Robbie and Steve Carell, who stepped successful for Anderson-favourite Bill Murray aft helium caught Covid days earlier they started filming.

Johansson plays a 1950s movie icon - deliberation Bette Davis - successful the communicative acceptable successful a fictional American godforsaken town, wherever a radical of kid geniuses are gathered for a subject contention that is interrupted by an alien visitant which leaves them locked up successful quarantine.

Anderson is best-known for directing films specified arsenic The Grand Budapest Hotel, The French Dispatch and The Darjeeling Limited.

The Guardian's Peter Bradshaw awarded the movie 4 stars, describing it arsenic an "exhilarating triumph of axenic style" which "leans nicely into its ain artificiality, and each delicious, microscopic item is simply a delight".

"Asteroid City's eccentricity, its elegance, its gaiety, and its sheer profusion of item wrong the tableau framework marque it specified a pleasure," helium wrote.

"So, too, does its dapper styling of classical American popular culture. With each caller shot, your eyes dart astir the screen, grabbing astatine each the painterly small jokes and embellishments, each getting a micro-laugh."

He continued: "As ever, determination is small oregon nary affectional content, contempt the ostensible taxable of grief. The movie rattles cleverly and exhilaratingly along, adroitly absorbing the implications of pathos and loneliness without allowing itself to dilatory down.

"It is tempting to see this savant blankness arsenic immoderate benignant of symptom, but I truly don't deliberation so: it is the look of style. And what benignant it is."

"It looks ravishing, arsenic usual: bluish Cadillacs against orangish desert, swivelling outer dishes, mushroom clouds from atomic tests rising silently connected the horizon," helium wrote.

"There are subtle departures, though: fantastical encounters (I'll accidental nary more) and an aerial of confounding surreality that feels new. This is Anderson filtered done the lens of David Lynch minus the horror, oregon Charlie Kaufman with amended tailoring."

He said it "presents itself arsenic a stylized meditation connected grief, though it's not the benignant that anyone's going to shed a teardrop over".

"Asteroid City looks smashing, but arsenic a movie it's for Anderson die-hards only, and possibly not adjacent excessively galore of them," helium concluded.

There were akin reservations from from the Hollywood Reporter's David Rooney. He noted how, arsenic ever with Anderson movies, "the trade elements are impeccable" and that "every histrion commits 100% to the director's vision, similar oddball figurines successful a miniature artifact world".

"The occupation is there's conscionable not capable present to afloat prosecute the spectator beyond the trademark aesthetics - nary affectional propulsion oregon lingering feeling and excessively fewer genuine laughs," helium added.

"For a movie truthful curiously weightless it seems awfully pleased with itself, its moments of magic evaporating astir instantaneously."

Last month, Anderson began trending, with societal media awash with parodies of his erstwhile films utilizing his quirky, deadpan benignant and pastel-coloured aesthetic.

On Tuesday, the manager told the AFP quality bureau helium wrote Asteroid City during the Covid-19 lockdown, saying it was astir "reckoning with forces beyond your control".

"This movie is surely informed by the astir bizarre viral infinitesimal successful caller history," helium said.

"Writing it during this pandemic, successful the mediate of the astir locked-down lockdown, we were not definite we would ever spell retired again - truthful I deliberation that's benignant of successful it."

The film's accomplishment was welcomed by the Independent's Geoffery Mcnab, who said the "enrapturing cosmic comedy" was reminiscent of an "offbeat" mentation of the 1977 US sci-fi play film, Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

"Anderson has enactment unneurotic 1 of his huge, acquainted ensemble casts," helium noted. "Much of the pleasance present comes from the perfectly calibrated and precise deadpan performances from his actors, adjacent those successful the insignificant parts.

"Johansson is brilliant," helium underlined, "embuing her quality with some enactment entreaty and pathos."

"In its ain offbeat way, Asteroid City is an Anderson patchwork of Cold War paranoia and American household values successful each their often hypocritical glory. It is each spot arsenic arch arsenic his champion work, portion inactive managing to tug hard connected the heartstrings."

Screen Daily's Tim Grierson added that astatine this signifier of Anderson's career, "it's simply a fixed that Asteroid City volition look and dependable impeccable".

"Delightful, occasionally rather moving and ever exquisitely crafted, this is simply a humble charmer astir trying to marque consciousness of the satellite either done creation oregon different pursuits."

Asteroid City volition beryllium released successful UK cinemas from 23 June.