Name: The Phoenician Scheme
Released: 2025-6-6
Cast: Benicio Del Toro, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hanks, Rupert Friend, Benedict Cumberbatch

Creators Syndicate

Kurt Loder

Doesn't repay the close attention that would be required to keep track of its underpowered plot.

Contrary to kneejerk claims of Anderson having stalled creatively or succumbed to self-parody, The Phoenician Scheme reinforces the director’s artistry as continuing to expand beyond any reasonable early-career expectations.

Of all Anderson’s meticulously-mounted visions, THE PHOENICIAN SCHEME feels the least concerned with its audience; it’s fitfully funny, often confusing, sometimes distracted by its own aesthetics, and not as incisively clever as it thinks it is.

For all the pyrotechnic potential, the film generally rumbles rather than explodes, although it does begin with a loud kaboom.

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KKFI-FM (Kansas City)

Russ Simmons

Every frame exudes Anderson’s patented stagey, idiosyncratic style. Those open to his unique cinematic vision should find something to enjoy in “The Phoenician Scheme.” Skeptics, however, will shrug.

The Phoenician Scheme has more star power than story power. It's watchable if you can tolerate filmmaker Wes Anderson's oddball style. The cast's performances save a plot that becomes a checklist of business betrayals and schemes.

A vivid presence despite her dry-as-dust tone, [Mia] Threapleton makes a splendid Andersonian debut here.

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Sunday Independent (Ireland)

Hilary A White

By-numbers Anderson is still a gift amid a Hollywood in thrall to convention. But he now risks becoming conventional himself.

Given that “The Phoenician Scheme” essentially concludes by saying, as some of the director’s other movies did, “Forgive your ridiculous dad for his failings,” its major attraction is the whimsy with which it is decorated, or suffused, or infested.

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Sydney Morning Herald

Sandra Hall

Sometimes [Wes Anderson] strays too far into the arcane and the laughs get lost in the confusion but his best work is so gloriously ridiculous that you can forgive him anything. The Phoenician Scheme is in that category.

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