I might have been mistaken in thinking that Asteroid City was Wes Anderson’s most direct film on the nature of existentialism. The Phoenician Scheme becomes even more overt with mortality, to the point of making regular trips to the afterlife and forcing skulls onto tables multiple times. This aspect doesn’t entirely hinder the film, but it does reveal how simplified the themes become in a movie that zips through its tale of spirituality and bureaucracy, more compartmentalized than compelling.

The sharper focus on the central character of Zsa-zsa Korda (Benicio del Toro) does make his journey more fascinating, one of personal growth. As a scheming tycoon, there is so much going on in his life that the constant assassinations and air-crash survivals feel like an everyday occurrence more than a dangerous knocking on death’s door. He’s so preoccupied with business expenses that he overlooks the religious ambitions of his daughter, Liesl (Mia Threapleton), who is more inclined to become a nun than an inheritor of her dad’s estate. He knows she’s reluctant to accept his offer (given the many sons he’s amassed), but he also knows she’s more inclined to make business trips with him for the chance at getting revenge on the man who murdered her mother.

A lot is happening in this film regarding money, spying, conspiracies, and legacy, but the bulk of it boils down to Korda meeting with associates and bargaining for money and time to fulfill his ambitions and continue living. This leads to the massive ensemble getting their appearances portioned to a handful of scenes and being free of any further growth in the narrative besides a tool of Korda’s world. Bryan Cranston and Tom Hanks appear for a business deal via basketball. Jeffrey Wright plays an investor with a nautical theme whose only personality seems to be saying “yeah, man” constantly. Richard Ayoade plays a communist rebel leader who is amusing in his few scenes, but his limited time is spent explaining his political and religious views, which would seem pretty self-explanatory. Even the more distinguished role of Benedict Cumberbatch as the bearded conspirator Nubar feels like an afterthought by the time he appears in the third act.

The only other actor besides Benicio del Toro or Mia Threapleton who has a noteworthy presence is Michael Cera as the mysterious and quirky tutor Bjørn. He makes a fine addition for Anderson’s troupe, considering how he practically plays a dual role with a solid twist to his character. It’s a great usage of him, considering that Cera’s usual mumblecore would make him an easy fit for Anderson’s dry deliveries, but the director doesn’t give him an easy role for a film like this. The same can be said for Benicio del Toro, who is framed with more of the emotional desperation that was better expressed in Anderson’s early works, such as Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums. He’s framed to be a little more emotional and vulnerable, getting into heated shouting matches with his investors and sometimes being reduced to repetition in baragins.

While the many vignettes of negotiating across Korda’s many ventures have their moments, the many afterlife visions feel too simplistic in their surreal staging and more like an extra pocket to stash the Anderson veterans. Though these scenes have their importance for Korda coming to terms with his history and spirituality, they also end up feeling like even shorter films than the ones Anderson recently made for Netflix. So, for as much as I’d love to champion a movie with Willem Dafoe as the Knave and Bill Murray as God, they’re too brief to boast about.

The Phoenician Scheme is a frustratingly fine film, offering some new Wes Anderson charm in bite-sized morsels rather than a decadent meal. There are some distinct elements worth noting for the direction being more emotional and violent than his previous pictures, for whatever it may be worth to see a man explode in half in one of these movies. While speedy execution will prevent the dryness from going stale, so much about this film is so aggressively average of Anderson’s hallmarks that it’s likely such a film will end up somewhere in the middle of the top Wes Anderson films.