REVIEW: “Asteroid City” rockets into theaters for a successful opening weekend

Jake Ramsey

“Asteroid City” had its full opening weekend after a brief limited release in theaters. It was a wonderful experience.

Wes Anderson’s latest outing in the film-world, “Asteroid City,” hit a limited number of theaters on June 16, 2023, before having its full official release on June 23, 2023. While being stacked against heavy-hitters like “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” and “The Flash,” “Asteroid City” still managed to do fairly well at the box office. Raking in $790,000 during its limited release, it later brought in another $9 million when it hit theaters all across the country.

So, why is the latest Wes Anderson film causing such a craze amongst movie-goers? The answer is quite simple: it’s really good.

While the film features some of the Wes Anderson staples, such as pastel colors, quick-witted humor, fun characters and interesting choices behind the camera, it also features some new and exciting ideas that Anderson is clearly testing out. Anderson brings in a large cast of A-list actors to perform his words and his actions. There is a very clear disconnect between these actors and who they are playing, but it doesn’t take away from the core of the film. Leave it to Anderson to have Margot Robbie, one of the biggest names in Hollywood, appear for only one scene. However, no matter how small the role, her impact on the story was felt all throughout the final epilogue of the film.

There are also many decisions made behind the scenes that add to the visual flair and intrigue of the story. One that many eagle-eyed viewers may notice was the regular switching of aspect ratios during various scenes, often going from 1.85:1, the most common aspect ratio in film, to 4:3, an older but still visually appealing aspect ratio. The use of various different ratios adds volumes to the cinematography and really tightens up the shots. It makes it easier for the audience to know what they should be looking at, and when watching a film with so much going on, that can be important.

With that being said, don’t forget to keep an eye out for funny moments or wacky characters in the background, as Anderson loves to reward people for watching his movies several times and keeping a keen-eye to things like that.

Overall, Wes Anderson’s “Asteroid City” proves to be another smash hit from a phenomenal director. The film earns four stars out of five, and is definitely a must-watch for the month of June.