The thing that some people forget is that Wes Anderson co-wrote the script. the Life Aquatic is quite possibly one of the most original movies i have ever seen, and, personally, i loved every aspect of it. The score was spectacular, mixing Bowies actual recordings with the Portugese covers of Sue Jorge was ingenious. In my opinion the story bares some resemblance to that of Moby Dick, in that the main character is the Capitan of a ship and is bent on finding a sea creature for, at first, revenge... but draw your own comparisons.
All in all, the movie was stellar and grabbed my attention from beginning to end, although, it is definitely one of those films that you either like or dislike, and i obviously liked it. I recommend seeing it even if your friends say that its bad, i only rented it in the first place because it was all they had at Video Connection one lonely Friday night and i needed something to watch, and all of my friends, none of whom know what their talking about, trashed it never the less i found it beautiful, hilarious, and over-all an absolutely stunning work of art by Mr. Wes Anderson... also, if you saw it and liked it, you should check out the Royal Tenenbaums, also directed by Anderson, it is almost as good as the Life Aquatic.