Life of Pi wants to be a film full of quirky, idiosyncratic characters that drive
the film. A lead named after a French swimming pool; a father with a comical
limp caused by polio; an uncle with an exaggerated chest that makes him an
excellent swimmer. To begin with it all feels very Amelie (2001) and like Amelie
it’s difficult to really connect with the characters. Instead we bond with
detached amusement. For quirky characters with heart see Wes Anderson.
Therefore, more than a
character driven dramatic piece of work, Life
of Pi is a visual accomplishment, much in the same way Avatar (2009) was. The use of 3D in Life of Pi, while good, is not displaying massive strides in the
technology and doesn’t improve on what Cameron did three years with Avatar. The image is crisp and at times
stunning and the 3D adds fantastic depth especially in the scene where the boat
sinks and Pi is stranded on the empty pacific. However, during fast moving
action scenes, it still blurs.
More impressive than
the 3D is the creation of the Bengal tiger, which is fantastically realised
with CGI and terrifyingly real. However, like Avatar, the story will not stand up to repeated viewings and with
repeated viewings the technology will become less impressive and soon look out
of date. This is a shame as Ang Lee is obviously very capable of not only
creating great character driven films (Brokeback
Mountain (2005)), but also doing this while combining them with technology
(Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon
(2000)). Life of Pi is fun and
entertaining, but soon forgettable and another argument for 3D not having a
long shelf life.
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