The Phoenician Scheme

The Phoenician Scheme is very agreeable and charming.

Is there a future where I revisit Phoenician and find it significantly funnier and more profound (as was the case with Grand Budapest)? Yes, but unlike Korda’s redemption arc, mine isn’t imminent.

If Asteroid City was Wes Anderson’s defense of his own methods... The Phoenician Scheme is his exploration of everything those methods aren’t sufficient to encompass.

What peps up "The Phoenician Scheme" are some of its performances, specifically del Toro's.

But even at their worst, I used to think Anderson’s films were visually interesting. It’s the trait for which he’s most known and celebrated. But as of late, his films have become rife with eye-scorching ugliness.

It's not terrible, but it's an elegantly filmed stumble.

The Phoenician Scheme may not fully achieve the greatness it aspires to, but it offers a relentlessly stylish parade of comic characters.

Anderson’s films often take multiple viewings to fully appreciate... I suspect that will be true of The Phoenician Scheme, as well.

The Phoenician Scheme might not become anyone's favourite Wes Anderson film. But it is a decent and entertaining entry in the canon. I liked it more than Asteroid City and about as much as The French Dispatch.

It’s a film that continues Anderson’s unmistakable visual and narrative style, while pushing ever so slightly into more emotional territory, though not always successfully.