Review of Life of Pi (2012) by Rory P — 17 Apr 2014

Life of Pi is one of those movies that is wonderful to watch, but would have seemed even more brilliant if I had not read the source material beforehand. As a lover of Yann Martel's unforgettable novel, I found this film adaption leaning too heavily on computer-generated spectacle intensifying the sinking ship, the rolling sea waves, and the initial cat-and-mouse encounters between Pi and Richard Parker.

Thank goodness the quality of CG effects was brilliant, as otherwise this film would have felt like a cartoon. Rhythm & Hues, the late special effects studio in charge of the numerous simulated animals and environments produced some of their best work to date; I was truly convinced that Richard Parker was a living, breathing Bengal Tiger after Pi's throat.

In turn, the colorful psychedelic sequences of color and light were also a wonder to behold, even though a certain night scene featuring glowing jellyfish and algae screamed "Let's cash in on Avatar's Pandora.

" Ang Lee did a fine job handling the narration, with the back-and-forth interplay from present to past; Martel's writing was too good to leave out, and the best of the novel's written passages were incorporated into Pi's retelling, down to the spot-on perfect final conversation he has with the two officials from the Japanese Ministry of Transport.

This shocking revelation of the symbolic nature of the zoo animals was by far the best part of the film (and novel) and it ended the film in a satisfying and melancholy manner. As far as an emotional ride, Life of Pi scaled back the spiritual and emotional journey of Pi lost at sea; I never got the sense that the boy was stranded on sea for 230 days, as he looked and acted like he was lost for 2 or 3 months.

My favorite part of the novel, which was the humorous three-way fight between the Christian, Hindu, and Muslim priests, was left absent. Even more frustrating is the absence of Pi's conversation with Richard Parker; this was a total, complete missed opportunity, as CG could have been used very well to create a talking Bengal tiger.

Suraji Sharma, who played Pi, and Irrfan Khan, who portrayed Pi's adult-self, were very well acted and memorable. I wish I could say the same thing about Rafe Spall, whose overly-amazed interjections stuck out like a sore thumb.