Life of Pi Review!

Alright! Today I’m reviewing the 2012 Ang Lee movie Life of Pi, an adaptation of a supposedly unfilmable book about the young Pi Patel, who, after his boat goes down and his entire family dies, is left stranded on a lifeboat with an adult Bengal tiger named Richard Parker. 

This is one of my favorite movies of all time (Top 10, easily) - everything about it is immaculate. The direction, acting, soundtrack, visual effects, themes, religious allegories, cinematography, and the emotional story it tells are all perfect. And don’t take it from me - Life of Pi is so good that it, a PG-rated movie, was nominated for Best Picture, a feat only 11 movies have accomplished in the past 30 years.

Everything about Life of Pi is so great it’s hard to know where to begin - but let's start with the direction. Beautiful camera shots and inventive techniques make people swim through the air, make you feel how small you really are, and creative setpieces all blend together in a beautifully visual experience. There are so many beautiful scenes in the movie it’s hard to name all of them.

The standouts, however, are the scenes with the whale, the scene where the water is so perfectly still it reflects the golden sky above, when Pi goes under the water to see the boat sink, when an isolated shot of the boat at night shows the reflection of the stars framed from 100 meters away, scenes with flying fish, scenes with carnivorous islands, lightning hitting a stormy ocean, and even things as mundane as an Indian zoo all become shots of visual marvel that elevate the experience. And those are just my personal favorites, more abound throughout the film. 

Basically, the movie just screams beauty. There’s not a single frame that’s not beautiful, and not in the meticulously staged and colored Wes Anderson way, but in a natural and vibrant Ang Lee type of way. Ang Lee, who, between this and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, earns my everlasting respect and interest in any upcoming projects of his. 

I also love the themes that the movie touches on. I never really talk about themes on the blog, and I apologize for that. But the religious themes the movie touches on are so pertinent and never forced it’s admiring. The movie’s not trying to preach, but the religious aspects to the story add conflict and emotion to the movie, and they never shy away from them either. The Christian and Hindu aspects of Pi Patel’s layered personality are both integrally woven into the story (Although the Islamic aspects are somewhat forgotten following their introduction).

The movie is also great in terms of production value. The soundtrack is calming and beautiful and angry and violent when it suits the occasion - the film’s lead, Suraj Sharma, does a great job acting against his CGI scene partner, demonstrating a powerful and raw performance. Even minor supporting actors like Rafe Spall, Adil Hussain, and Irrfan Khan are scene stealers and feel real. 

The movie’s greatest strength is likely how real it feels. Performances and set design as grounded and mundane yet so strikingly beautiful allow the suspension of disbelief to be carried throughout the 127-minute runtime. In many ways, Life of Pi is one of the greatest fantasy movies ever made and never feels like it is a fantasy movie. The human story of acceptance and love and feeling small is all so relatable that the movie never feels unrealistic. It's truly impressive when a movie can make one feel the size and scope of something unfathomably large like the ocean. 

And, of course, all of the VFX in the movie is absolutely spectacular. The fact that I never once doubted that CGI plushie was, in fact, a tiger is a testament to how great it was. You realize that half the movie takes place in a green screen studio in Atlanta or something and the size and scope of the ocean becomes just as technically impressive as it is visually.

Overall, I give Life of Pi a 10/10. "Surprisingly powerful, epic, and impressively visual, Life of Pi is a once-in-a-lifetime experience - a movie better than the book."

Easily the best adaptation of Calvin and Hobbes to grace the big screen.