Most of us know what to expect when going to a Wes Anderson movie — a stacked cast of talented actors featured in a vibrant and uniquely styled film. While the story isn’t always the most engaging, the visuals oftentimes make up for it.

Asteroid City, much like his previous works, features these same characteristics, but it also feels different.

We are not so much watching a movie, but watching a man (Bryan Cranston) explain the inner-workings and behind-the-scenes of a play, Asteroid City. This makes the film spliced with black-and-white sequences of Cranston’s monologue, along with the colorful play itself.

Right off the bat, this was an interesting premise for me. However, it oftentimes felt unnecessary and actually took away from my enjoyment of the movie.

Every time we were watching the play itself, I was fully immersed in the story. That quickly changed, however, every time that it cut back to Cranston.

This isn’t anything against Anderson, as this is how he intended the film to flow, but I couldn’t help but want to be fully encapsulated in the beautifully crafted world of Asteroid City. When I was removed from this world, it proved to be frustrating.

While I had my frustrations, I ultimately left Asteroid City satisfied in the end. Some of the characters were non-essential to the story, but everyone delivered great performances.

Jason Schwartzman and Scarlett Johansson shined in their roles, having great chemistry in each of their scenes together. The dialogue is completely straightforward, but there are several laugh-out-loud moments throughout.

I went into Asteroid City intrigued as to how Anderson would execute an “alien” movie. Really — this isn’t that at all.

Yes, there is an alien. But, it wasn’t really all that central to the story.

Dealing with grief and confusion, the characters are all trying to discover who they are and what their purpose is. That is sometimes portrayed as literal confusion about line delivery and their role in the play, but other times as the meaning of life itself.

This is an insanely simple story at heart, but it does feel more profound by the end. It’s a film that I had to think on, and it still lingers in my mind from time to time.

With great performances and Anderson’s usual flair, Asteroid City is a fun, but also thought-provoking movie. If you haven’t seen it, I’d recommend giving it a shot in theaters.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10