Wealthy businessman Zsa-zsa Korda appoints his only daughter, a nun, as sole heir to his estate. As Korda embarks on a new enterprise, they soon become the target of scheming tycoons, foreign terrorists and determined assassins.

Director Wes Anderson has always been an acquired taste, even as he’s hit or miss. For some of his films, I’m on board with whatever his twee brand of inanity presents (The Royal Tenenbaums, Bottle Rocket, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Moonrise Kingdom). For others, I can’t be bothered (Life Aquatic, Darjeeling Express, and especially French Dispatch). The Phoenician Scheme doesn’t achieve the heights of the great ones, but it did hook me instantly and kept me laughing and enthralled throughout.

Benicio Del Toro (dare I say his greatest performance since his Oscar-winning role in Traffic) is Zsa-zsa Korda, an international man of intrigue who is constantly under threat of assassination (the movie opens with one) and in an effort to control his legacy, he summons his daughter, Liesl (Mia Threapleton, most notable for being Kate Winslet’s daughter), a soon to be nun, to become his heir and help him confirm his financial legacy.

The scheme is a macguffin that requires Korda and Liesl to travel across the world meeting the typical myriad coterie of Anderson characters (including Anderson regulars and noobs alike – Tom Hanks, Bryan Cranston, Riz Ahmed, Mathieu Amalric, Richard Ayoade, Jeffrey Wright, Scarlett Johansson, and Benedict Cumberbatch). I had the least interest in Cumberbatch’s Uncle Nubar, who thankfully shows up way late in the film. Ahmed and Amalric were the most at ease in the world, maybe ScarJo too, but she had nothing to do but add another accent to her repertoire. Best in show for me was Michael Cera who joins Korda and Liesl as a bug tutor (no, really) and uses his wry goofiness to great effect.

It’s mostly a father-daughter story that thankfully doesn’t get bogged down trying to sell that point. It’s light as air, and mostly hilarious throughout.

Jonathan’s grade – B