Visually Spellbinding

Rating: 9/10 (11 January 2013)

Life of Pi is a story about a boy who tests his faith and beliefs while being stranded in the middle of the ocean after their ship got sunk by a storm. It's ought to be an inspiring tale to make one believe in God. In the end, there's only few questions to ask, but what made this spectacular is the amazing use of special effects and the direction. You do not always get a film as gorgeous and as highly enjoyable as this one. It's one of the best kinds of experiences you'll get in cinemas. It has real tension, humor, and emotional depth, but the real landmark here is the visuals that are undeniably spellbinding.
The beginning is quite intriguing as it talks about faith and its morality, but the conundrum disappointingly ends up being less subtle in execution. Despite of that, we still get to see something extraordinary. One is a genuine fortitude in every suspenseful and emotional moment which practically compels the whole picture. The other is obviously the visuals. Ang Lee interestingly turned the survival into a whimsical and surreal exterior that made this look so remarkable like when the water perfectly reflects the stars in the sky or the lightning struck at the entire ocean during a harsh storm. The CGI-ed animals are amazing how they move and act like real animals. The enjoyable bits is when Pi interacts with those band of misfits. The film is in 3D and yep, there are plenty of things jumped off the screen(noticeably changes ratio aspect in one sequence), but it also shows some interesting use of it.
There's only few things to say about this since I haven't read the book(rule breaker here), but I'll say it has the same root of Cloud Atlas. The message isn't overwhelmingly executed but the technical achievements and the direction made it a powerful cinematic experience. It could have been a much better experience if it's strong to its themes, but it's all stunning anyway. Life of Pi is a compelling cinematic journey with endless visual wonders.