Better Than Expected, With Mind Blowing Cinematography

Rating: 8/10 (11 May 2016)

Life of Pi is directed by Ang Lee and is the story of a young man who, after surviving a sinking freight ship, is stranded in the Pacific Ocean with nothing but a single life boat and a tiger named Richard Parker. As older Pi is explaining the story to an author, the film goes very in depth upon the relationship between Pi and Richard Parker, and the psychological and physical journey that young Pi goes on.
What I got from Life of Pi was much more than I expected. Due to the trailers and its Oscar for visual effects, I expected a color orgy with no heart to it, made purely as Oscar bait. However, Life of Pi was a lot more than that. This film was deep, and was all around a great story. There were some poor aspects of the movie, but overall it was pretty good. I really enjoyed myself when watching Life of Pi, and thought it was a great movie.
As far as cinematography and special effects go, Life of Pi is a masterpiece. Few films have ever looked better than this. Almost the entire film is complete CGI, and it works on incredible levels of expertise. Besides Pi himself, and the small boat, everything was completely CG, and I was blown away. The detail on the ocean, and fish, and especially the tiger, Richard Parker, was amazing. I would honestly compare the cinematography in Life of Pi to that of Avatar (2009).
The acting was fantastic as well. Suraj Sharma, who portrayed young Pi, did great. His kindness, with a burst of ferocity, was displayed on screen very well. Through most of the run time, Pi was a calm and collective young man, with a large amount of both patience and faith. However, he occasionally would have outbursts of rage, due to his situation, and Sharma pulled this off very well. Irrfan Khan, who played older Pi, also did very well. This man is already a highly respectable actor, with great capabilities, but he brought a lot to this film. His character was very wise and experienced, and this was shown greatly by Khan.
Ang Lee's direction was astounding, to say the least. Each and every shot was fantastically filmed, with easily believable CGI mixed in with a real environment. During suspenseful sequences, the film lacked any shaky cam or quick cuts. Many shots were underwater, and they, especially, looked great. One particular shot which involved a sinking ship already halfway underwater looked so amazingly real my jaw literally dropped. Most of these shots were great, and added a scary depth to the oceanic aspect of the movie.
Another really good thing about Life of Pi that is worth mentioning is the realness to the tiger, Richard Parker. Although his character is an animal, and is completely CGI, the film gives so many personality traits to the tiger just through his actions and relationship with Pi. Richard Parker is given more depth than most animals in film, and really grew on the audience quickly. His relationship with Pi was also very deep, which felt nice to see in the movie.
Now, the main thing I disliked about Life of Pi was the first 10 to 15 minutes of the film, in which Pi's childhood is displayed. Not all of his childhood was slow, but the beginning of it was very bland, slow, and all around just not entertaining. There were a few things in Pi's childhood that actually mattered later on in the film, but there were a couple unnecessary subplots that just felt like failed attempts to flesh out both Pi and his family, and they just didn't work that well. However, once the story picks up, it really starts going, and going fast.
Another thing that I felt was somewhat disappointing was a certain part in the film in which Pi finds temporary shelter. However, the film later tries to explain the shelter, and ruins the effect it had on Pi. It's hard to explain without spoilers, but it felt as if the film had just stopped, and the movie later on blows the idea out of the water, no pun intended, and makes it slightly irrelevant. Other than that, however, I didn't find any other issues with Life of Pi.
Overall, Life of Pi was a really good movie. It had mind blowing visuals, great direction, and some really good acting too. I enjoyed Life of Pi, and I would recommend it to anyone who would enjoy an adventure, as long as you don't get seasick easily.