Review Roundup: The Grand Budapest Hotel

Wes Anderson's newest whimsical film, THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL, opens in theaters today.

Written and directed by Anderson with a story by Anderson and Hugo Guinness, the all-star cast includes Ralph Fiennes, Tony Revolori, F. Murray Abraham, Mathieu Amalric, Adrien Brody, Willem Dafoe, Jeff Goldblum, Jude Law, Bill Murray, Edward Norton, Saoirse Ronan and Jason Schwartzman, Tilda Swinton, Tom Wilkinson and Owen Wilson.

The Grand Budapest Hotel recounts the adventures of Gustave H, a legendary concierge at a famous European hotel between the wars, and Zero Moustafa, the lobby boy who becomes his most trusted friend. The story involves the theft and recovery of a priceless Renaissance painting and the battle for an enormous family fortune -- all against the back-drop of a suddenly and dramatically changing Continent.

What did the critics have to say?

Ian Buckwalter | NPR

"Chances are you've already made up your mind about Wes Anderson. Either you're willing to go with the meticulous symmetry of his dollhouse compositions, the precious tchotchke-filled design sensibility and the stilted formality of his dialogue, or you check out of his storybook worlds in the first five minutes. On the evidence of his eighth feature, The Grand Budapest Hotel, it's clear no one is more aware of his idiosyncracies than Anderson himself - and he's not apologizing." Read full review here.

Kenneth Turan | Los Angeles Times

"Wes Anderson sweats the details. All of them, all the time, to an extent that can be maddening. But not in THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL, where the writer-director's familiar style blends with a group of unexpected factors to create a magnificently cockeyed entertainment." Read the full review here.

Peter Travers | Rolling Stone

"The rap on Wes Anderson is that he doesn't make movies so much as build castles in the air. To Anderson haters, from Bottle Rocket and Rushmore to Fantastic Mr. Fox and Moonrise Kingdom, his films reek of pressed flowers, too stale and studied to feel for... My advice is, don't let academic analysis bury the pleasures of beholding Anderson in a wonderland of his own making. His abiding love for a vanished past, real and imagined, is at the core of THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL. The thrill comes in watching as this rare talent gives his movie wings." Read the full review here.

Claudia Puig | USA Today

"There's more to The Grand Budapest Hotel than its dazzling candy-colored exterior. A sense of political inevitability and a yearning for a more innocent time infuses it. A haunting and humane tale peopled with unforgettable characters, it's the work of a highly original filmmaker at the top of his game." Read the full review here.

Joe Morgenstern | Wall Street Journal

"Hardly a moment goes by in Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel when there isn't something to make us smile-a pretty image, a funny line, a droll sight gag, a charming set, a striking juxtaposition of color or tone." Read the full review here.

Joe Neumaier | New York Daily News

Sometimes, even when the visit is perfectly planned and the service impeccable, you wind up leaving a place with a few minor reservations. But it isn't enough to spoil the overall experience. That's how it is with Wes Anderson's THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL, the quirky director's latest confection, now laced with newfound, bitter historical truths." Read the full review here.

Mara Reinstein | Us Weekly

"And like all Anderson films, the love is in the eccentric details - from the decorative cake slices to all those handcrafted, bright uniforms. Priceless stuff." Read the full review here.

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