Great movie provided that you buy into the story.

Rating: 8/10 (28 June 2016)

Something that should be clarified in regard to this story is the definition of destiny. The overall theme of the movie centers around destiny, but I think this is too easily confused with fate. When Jamal says that he and Latika are brought together by destiny, he means that she is his purpose in life. This does not mean they will necessarily be together, rather that they can only be together if Jamal pursues her ceaselessly and against all odds, as he does. At first, I thought the whole "it is written" thing meant that Jamal and Latika were brought together by supernatural forces, but when I reevaluated with the idea that destiny does not mean predestination, it gave me a greater respect for the story. If you don't believe in things like fate and destiny, then there's nothing I can say to convince you of this being a good story.
It certainly has plenty of space for holes to be poked in it. It all depends on what you buy into. Danny Boyle and company did a good job of selling Jamal's knowledge of most of the answers through the events of his life, as well as his final reunion with Latika. But that doesn't mean that everyone will buy into the unlikely aspects of the story. Even if you don't, it can still be a pretty enjoyable experience. The story of Jamal's life is a pretty compelling one. It shows the joys and pains he has, his good and bad breaks, and especially his relationship with Salim.
The contrast of Salim and Jamal comes from their definition of success. Salim sees success as breaking out of the slums by whatever means possible to gain financial security and a degree of power. Jamal on the other hand, follows his passions to find success. It's a bit sad to see them divided by this more and more as the movie progresses. This makes the ending with Latika choosing Jamal and leaving the life of relative luxury and security with Salim satisfying, but also bittersweet. The one thing I didn't understand about the ending was why Salim filled the bathtub with money. The only purpose this seemed to serve was to add to the theme of money being irrelevant since it happens at about the same time that Jamal wins 20 million rupees that he doesn't seem to want or have any plans for. Plus, this is consistent with how Boyle ended Trainspotting with the protagonist acquiring lots of money that they want for reasons that aren't really financial.
The execution was amazing. The way that the editing, script pace, music, and cinematography flowed together was just so entertaining to watch, particularly during the montages. Even if you don't like the fairy tale style story, it's hard not to be impressed with the technical execution. The acting was above average, even from the various kid actors. In terms of the script, the dialogue isn't noteworthy, but the pacing is very good.
This could rightly be called an adult version of a stereotypical kid's movie. It certainly bears enough resemblance to the rags to riches stories that riddle most fairy tales and such, all but blatantly putting a "happily ever after" at the end. I was actually surprised at how much I was okay with the happy ending, because I normally get annoyed by them. I would go into it with slightly low expectations. Most of the Oscars it won were well-deserved, being the technical ones for directing and editing. But it might be disappointing as a best picture winner. Overall Rating: 8.6/10