Great...in spells

Rating: 7/10 (14 April 2014)

Great...in spells. Also quite dull in spells.
Broad feel of the is typical Wes Anderson: quirky, whimsical, sentimental, sometimes funny. However, here he is unable to sustain the interest and continuously engage the audience throughout. Some parts just drift.
Set up and initial development are great, as is the conclusion. It is the third quarter or so where things get tedious and uninteresting. Essentially the movie becomes a silly common-or-garden chase movie.
Performances are great. Ralph Fiennes was perfect for the lead role and carries the movie with aplomb. Tony Revolori does well as the Lobby Boy, Zero. Supporting cast is star-studded, include many Wes Anderson regulars and don't put a foot wrong: F Murray Abraham, Jude Law, Edward Norton, Adrien Brody, Jason Schwarzman, Willem Dafoe, Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Jeff Goldblum, Siaorse Ronan, Tilda Swinton, Tom Wilkinson, Harvey Keitel, Bob Balaban, Fisher Stevens. I even found Jeff Goldblum convincing and non-irritating, which is rare for me.
A bit more focus in the middle-to-end sections and this could have been a great movie.