If one isn't focused on this movie, it could be considered quite bland and boring, yet on a more sustained experience, this movie has a different stylistic feel and approach that almost defies classification. The different photographic techniques, the colors, the sets are vibrant with energy. The acting style at times is amateurish yet deliberately rebelliously anti-polished.

I can accept the outlandish pirate sequence that was so jarring and unbelievable (that in some ways is typical of the whole movie's premise). Yet when it comes to Bill Murray's character, his presence as Bill Murray in the movie becomes a distraction. I would have preferred to have seen Bill Murray's character in "Lost in Translation" in "Life Aquatic" rather than what the audience experienced in "Life Aquatic." With the more convoluted scenario, Mr. Murray's character in "Lost in Translation" would have been forced to expand and his dry humor would have leached out in what I would have imagined would have been delightful ways.

The movie on the whole was an original, entertaining, and creative experience that I'm glad I had a chance, reluctantly, to see.