Honestly, life aquatic is spectacular. 56% on rotten tomatoes is total highway robbery. The character arcs of everyone in this film is tremendous. I felt super invested in the story as well. This was the first Wes Anderson that I thought had really good action, and since I love action, that made me like it even more. The colors were beautiful, and the ending is beautiful. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. 
Edit- I accidentally went on a Wes Anderson marathon lol...