Wes Anderson's best so far, though that is not saying much

Rating: 5/10 (17 June 2014)

A kind of flashback-inside-a-flashback, where we first get an aged writer (Tom Wilkinson) recalling his younger self (Jude Law) meeting with the important Zero Moustafa (F. Murray Abraham); then, another flashback (this one the movie) of Zero's youth working in the hotel under Gustave H. (Ralph Fiennes) and eventually inheriting it.
This is Wes Anderson's usual farce of a 'comedy', where he tries to be amusing or quirky, with a big meaningful cast even in the smallest of roles, colorful visual and 'hip' soundtracks. As usual, this is a matter of 'style': you are either the artsy type who glorifies him as one of modern cinema's finest or, like me, sees him as a pretentious hack.
Like in all his previous films, such as 'Rushmore' and 'Moonrise Kingdom', Anderson's style annoys me. He attempts to be 'different' in a sense, trying to force a quirky feel to his movies that only ends up making his characters and plot lines feel forced and unrealistic, almost cartoonish, to the point halfway through the film they might get unbearable.
His entire 'trademarks' (character presentation, chapter separation, reaction shots) are interesting ideas, but he tries to be so fancy doing that that it becomes... Cheesy?
'The Grand Hotel Budapest' is no different. The plot develops nicely, but by the end it is so pointlessly complicated it's not even funny. Characters come and go for seconds, so much you have to wonder why cast names like Bob Balaban, Bill Murray, Ed Norton or Jude Law for cameo- like minor roles. Just to add to the poster?
At least his more irritating casting choices (Jason Schwartzman, Tilda Swinton) also get the same cameo-esque treatment (i.e..: they are almost inexistent in here).
Among the actors that get more screen time Ralph Fiennes does a very good job, though his accent distracts a bit. Jeff Goldblum, Saoirse Ronan and Willem Dafoe are also good to watch, while Adrien Brody is atrocious as usual; Tony Revolori (the young Zero) is quite inconsistent, though his scenes with Fiennes are usually good.
The scenarios are beautiful, that is undeniable. But even that is not enough to compensate for all its shortcomings. Some scenes, like the whole mountain chase, felt like a failed attempt at recreating a Looney Tunes sketch.
In other words, this is the same old Wes Anderson formula made slightly more bearable. Fans of his style will get the usual 'fun' they find in it, while anyone else should be free to avoid it. Truth be told, I only watched it because of its unusually high rating.