THE Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou has about as much in common with the undersea adventures of Jacques Cousteau as Chitty Chitty Bang Bang has with space travel.

But the films and explorations of the famous Gallic diver are the inspiration for Wes Anderson's distinctly off the wall comedy.

Steve Zissou (Murray) is a semi-legendary diver, naturalist and film-maker whose documentaries about life beneath the waves have earned him adoration and admiration around the world.

But Team Zissou has hit choppy waters. First off, Steve's best friend Esteban has been eaten by a mysterious "jaguar shark". Then the team is struggling to get enough funds to finance its next expedition which Steve wants to turn into a revenge mission to nail the Esteban-eating "jaguar".

And matters are further complicated by the arrival of a young man claiming to be Steve's son (Wilson), as well as an inquisitive and pregnant journalist (Blanchett).

It's pleasing to say The Life Aquatic is unlike any comedy you will have seen before.

But just because it's original does not mean it's perfect.

A busy ensemble cast is often difficult to keep up with we are expected to know each and every member of Zissou's crew as well as his financier (Michael Gambon) and his arch rival (Jeff Goldblum).

And while Anderson's ideas are generally wild, wacky and free flowing, there comes a point when his creative reservoir seems to dry up.

But this film is still a lot of fun. Visually, The Life Aquatic looks like a cross between the Tintin cartoon series, a cheap 1970s TV adventure, and Finding Nemo.

The members of Team Zissou look utterly daft in their uniform of pale blue shirt and shorts and very silly red woollen hats.

And while a good deal of the story clearly takes place at sea, much of the action aboard Team Zissou's boat The Belafonte is obvously a cut-away studio set.

If the overall plot for The Life Aquatic is flimsy, the set-pieces and oddities the raid on a pirates' hideaway on an abandoned luxury island hotel, the musical interludes which see Team Zissou member Pele dos Santos (Seu Jorge) perform familiar David Bowie songs on acoustic guitar, in French are a delight.

And these days, anything with Bill Murray in is worth a look. 7/10

By Stephen Webb

THE LIFE AQUATIC WITH STEVE ZISSOU

Starring Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Cate Blanchett, Anjelica Houston, Willem Dafoe.

Cert 15,118 mins Showing at Cineworld from today