Life of Pi Review

No matter how many times Lucy promised Charlie Brown she wouldn't move the football, inevitably Charlie Brown ended up kicking air.  That's how I feel about watching movies in 3D: with the exception of Avatar, every time I think a 3D movie might be good, I am utterly disappointed.  Yet I keep doing it!  It invariably results in a bad experience and really takes AWAY from the movie rather than add to it.  In my defense, many critics (What the Flick!: I'm looking at you) said it was the best 3D since Avatar.  So, it is possible that my experience was tainted and I would have liked the movie more if I had watched it in 2D.  

SYNOPSIS

A floundering author finds an Indian (dot, not feather) man and persuades him to share his experience of when he was shipwrecked.  He then narrates an unbelievable tale of friendship, survival, and introspection.

REVIEW

First, let's go over the good.  The acting is spectacular.  All three different actors portraying Pi were fantastic.  It really is a beautifully shot film and will probably win best cinematography, in my opinion.  It doesn't deserve that award over Lincoln, but it will probably win.  And, the 3D was quite good, despite being a distraction at times. 

The music was fitting, in particular the Indian themes.  

Next, the bad.  I really should've listened to Michael Medved's warning that this film was all looks with no substance.  Although I think there was some substance, it was very difficult to get into.  It took a long time to get going and felt way too abstract.  

 SPOILER ALERT BELOW

In the end I thought it tried too hard to be just like the movie Atonement; the ending was so similar it was eerie.  The big difference is that Atonement was a more compelling and gripping story, which was made BETTER by the revelation at the end.  Whereas, I felt the out-of-this-world tale was cheapened by the revelation at the end of Life of Pi.  

CONCLUSION

Overall, I didn't like this movie, especially when compared to some of the other Oscar contenders like Argo and Lincoln.  I walked out of the theater confused and even angry at the ending.  2.25/5 stars.