Asteroid City - Wes Anderson, what else

Wes Anderson's Asteroid City is, well... a Wes Anderson movie. Very much to its core. And as a Wes Anderson movie, it is among the more enjoyable ones, and most definitely the "most" characteristically Wes Anderson film in his filmography.
The best feature of this film - a parodistic spoof of the countless Arizona-set alien invasion films Hollywood has baked, from Robert Wise to Steven Spielberg - does not have the pretence of being deeper than it is: an aesthetic endeavour. It lacks the technical maniacality of other Anderson films aswell, such as the simmetry, for the better. It does comprise some truly outstanding ideas, as well as an entirely unexpected nod to the madness of the contemporary era.but it is a simple narrative. 

As anticipated, is hard to think of another film by Wes Anderson that is as characteristic about every stylistic choice of his cinema: the completely set-built desert, the dry comedy, if compared to any other films by him, is more accentuated in this one. This inevitably leads to the film lacking the warmth Moonrise Kingdom or the intrigue Grand Budapest Hotel had, but still makes it enjoyable.

A stellar, massive cast so big that it is inevitable for most to stand out - except for Jason Schwartzman, who is perhaps portraying the most nuanced character, Scarlett Johannson and Bryan Cranston, the cluster comprised of Steve Carell, Tom Hanks, Matt Dillon, Tilda Swinton, Jeffrey Wright, Adrien Brody, Edward Norton, Maya Hawke, Rupert Friend and countless more seems just a compact mob with little distinction. A too limited screentime and a too featureless performance style adopted by all is what doesn't let anyone shine overly, but then again, Wes Anderson film performances are about the ensemble, not the single actor. 

Even with imperfections, Asteroid City delivers the crazy fun it promises.