LIFE OF PI 3D (20th Century Fox)
Director: Ang Lee
Starring: Suraj Sharma, Irrfan Khan, Rafe Spall, a tiger
Ang Lee won Best Director at the most recent Academy Awards. I’m not sure how or why, because so much of the film is based on computer effects that it’s hard to know exactly how much influence Lee might have had on the look and feel of Life Of Pi.
Life Of Pi follows an adult Pi Patel (Irrfan Khan) – Pi being short for Piscine Molitor, the name of a swimming pool – as he relates the story of the shipwreck that claimed his family, and his time stuck on a lifeboat with a tiger named Richard Parker, when he was sixteen years old (played by Suraj Sharma).
The tale serves as a philosophy delivery vehicle intertwined with a heavy-handed “god is everywhere” outlook: spend enough time on a lifeboat with a wild animal and you start to realise the nature of everything. It’s inspiration-by-numbers filmmaking, no more or less clever than any other film that tries to philosophise as it entertains.
Sadly, the constant asides to the present day Pi, as he tries to frame the story in religious belief, end up more distracting than enlightening.
Even worse, the explanation of what the story means, in the film’s final ten minutes, serves to suck any and all meaning out of what we’ve already seen.
Put it this way: if I’d walked out with ten minutes to go, this would have been a 4-star movie. The ending (which I won’t give away) ruins the entire film.
Despite a terrible, terrible ending, Life Of Pi has plenty of good points. Suraj Sharma is a revelation, carrying long stretches of the film with a screen presence that matches the gorgeous visuals that illustrate Pi’s time aboard the lifeboat.
The 3D presentation here is as good as it was in cinemas, lacking in gimmick and letting artistic imagery give the tale an otherworldly look. This is a great looking film, and the bluray presentation captures it perfectly.
It’s just a shame about the story.
Video Quality: 1080p High Definition 1.85:1.
Audio Quality: DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1; Dolby Digital 5.1.
Special Features: A Filmmakers Epic Journey featurette, A Remarkable Vision featurette, Tiger Tiger Burning Bright featurette, Picture Gallery, Storyboards, and more.
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