Why I Saw This: I want to see all the Oscar nominees for best picture. Otherwise, I really couldn't care less about seeing this movie.
Cast: Not a log of names I recognize in this one, nor is there much of a cast. It's really up to Suraj Sharma and Irrfan Khan playing adult and teen Pi to pull off. In both cases, especially Irrfan Khan, who gets most time, they are very good and manage to be engaging with very little to play off.
Plot: Here we have a perfect example of a book that had no place being made into a movie: plain and simple. The screenplay is as good as I imagine it can be given what my understanding of the book is. The part on the boat follows a pretty standard Odyssey formula. It's all told under the moniker of being a story that will make you believe in god, which is a pretty lofty goal. In general, I'm not sure how much the spirituality aspect translated from book to movie (again, I haven't read the book so I can only assume the book does things better). I'm still looking for the point of all that. The ending is pretty interesting though and left me thinking longer than most movies, so I suppose there's that.
Elephant in the Room: What about the CGI tiger? I won't to be clear about something. This movie is good because of the directing and cinematography (even the acting). It's the story that I found lacking. The tiger, Richard Parker, in particular was impressive. I don't know how much of the tiger or any animal was CGI, but there were only a few times that I ever even considered a shot was computer animated.
To Sum Things Up:
This is a very pretty movie and one of those times when I didn't even mind the 3D all that much. As a director, Ang Lee is impressive in the variety of films he makes and this adds to that diversity. I'm pretty sure that this late in the run, anyone who is seeing it in theaters already has. That's a bit of a shame only because a movie like this is best to be experienced on a big theater screen or not at all.
Verdict (?): Weakly Recommend
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