Beautiful, Unusual, Strange Aftertaste

Rating: 8/10 (25 November 2012)

I am not completely sure what to think of Life of Pi. Certainly, the majority of my thoughts equal a thumbs up. But when all said and done, it seemed...hard to pin down.
Pros: Almost everything; Directing, writing, casting, acting, music, cinematography, and most especially incredible, unique visual imagery and artistically gratifying use of 3D.
Cons: There is long one shot scene near the end that felt like it scrubbed a lot of the story's momentum, and put more questions in my mind as to what was really supposed to have been going on. That may be the intended effect, but I found it more confusing than intriguing or thought-provoking. Also, like several other films that I have seen this year, the "main idea" is not nearly as well fleshed-out as it aims to be. What is this story really about?
Overall: Life of Pi contains some of the most gorgeous, overwhelmingly magical, otherworldy visuals that I have ever seen, and it is the first time that I have enjoyed watching a film with 3D glasses on. (All others that I have seen in 3D, which granted did not include Avatar, struck me as cheap, artistically bankrupt gimmicks - but not this one.) It is worth the price of admission for that alone. And there are plenty of other reasons to see it, which I will not spoil. Ang Lee is, for my money, one of the best directors out there, and this film most definitely does not fall into any "lowest common denominator" category. It is something special.
Is it a masterpiece as a whole? I am not willing to go quite that far. Avatar has a more concise story, and that counts a great deal to me. However, Life of Pi is arguably the more genuinely intriguing of the two. I would recommend it.