Life of Pi 2012

Richard Corliss, TIME Magazine: Magical realism was rarely so magical and never before so real. Read more

Dana Stevens, Slate: The movie's energy peters out in a series of book-club conversations about divine will, the power of storytelling, and the resilience of the human spirit. Read more

Glenn Kenny, MSN Movies: ... the movie handles an alternate version of the story, and its ramifications, in an almost shockingly perfunctory manner. Which I think, in the end, compromises what the story wants to convey. Read more

A.O. Scott, New York Times: The movie invites you to believe in all kinds of marvelous things, but it also may cause you to doubt what you see with your own eyes - or even to wonder if, in the end, you have seen anything at all. Read more

David Edelstein, New York Magazine/Vulture: The film is transcendent. Read more

Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: Mr. Lee's film is stronger as a visual experience-especially in 3-D-than an emotional one, but it has a final plot twist that may also change what you thought you knew about the ancient art of storytelling. Read more

Claudia Puig, USA Today: With Life of Pi, Lee takes on a not-so-crouching tiger to bring audiences a wondrously enthralling adventure fable. Read more

John Hartl, Seattle Times: If the religious discussions in David Magee's script occasionally seem contrived, they're also quite sincere. Read more

Tasha Robinson, AV Club: It's more compelling to focus on Lee's visceral cinematic experience than on the larger, fuzzier messages Martel's story conveys about humanity's connection with God. Read more

Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: If the story, based on the popular novel by Yann Martel, can't quite keep pace with the look of the film (and, alas, it can't) it will take you awhile to notice. Read more

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: "Life of Pi," even more so on the screen, is a dream to help us keep the nightmares at bay. Read more

Ben Sachs, Chicago Reader: Ang Lee's signature style -- tasteful, measured, and devoid of personality -- translates surprisingly well to 3-D. Read more

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: Life of Pi, Yann Martel's beautiful little book about a young man and the sea and a tiger, has transformed into a big, imposing and often lovely 3-D experience. Read more

Tom Charity, CNN.com: This transcendent fable carries a real sting in its tail. Ang Lee has made a bold and wondrous movie, one of his best. Read more

Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor: Like that other "unfilmable" novel, Cloud Atlas, it has, of course, been turned into a movie -- with rather happier results. Read more

Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post: Shelve your dislike of 3D glasses. Quiet your nattering criticism of CGI. Because Lee and his able crew wield those tools like wands. Read more

Tom Long, Detroit News: "Pi" is a wonder to see; too bad it's not wondrous to feel. Read more

Cary Darling, Fort Worth Star-Telegram/DFW.com: Technology and transcendence may sometimes be at war, but in Life of Pi, Ang Lee's spectacular take on the popular Yann Martel novel, they instead make for graceful dance partners. Read more

Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: Everything looks beautiful in Life of Pi. Read more

Jordan Hoffman, Film.com: There isn't a dull moment in the film, and there are about 300 worthy of a "wow." Read more

Todd McCarthy, Hollywood Reporter: A gorgeous and accomplished rendering of the massive best-seller. Read more

Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: There are always moral crosscurrents in Lee's most provocative work, but so magical and mystical is this parable, it's as if the filmmaker has found the philosopher's stone. Read more

Randy Myers, San Jose Mercury News: With "Life of Pi," Lee outdoes himself visually, without a doubt setting a new standard for 3-D, a technology Hollywood has mostly abused with crass recklessness. Read more

Connie Ogle, Miami Herald: Don't wait for Netflix. Life of Pi demands to be seen on the biggest screen you can find. Read more

David Thomson, The New Republic: Veteran filmmakers will warn you, don't film at sea and don't work with animals. Ang Lee built a vast tank in Taiwan and he whips up awesome storms. [However,] watching the water here is more rewarding than watching the characters. Read more

Rafer Guzman, Newsday: "Life of Pi" is an absolutely gorgeous movie, aglow with color and filled with wraparound 3-D effects. Read more

David Denby, New Yorker: The film, at its best, celebrates the idiosyncratic wonders and dangers of raw, ravaging nature. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: However wishy-washy the story's theology may sometimes be, Lee's mastery of imagery is superb, as he effortlessly shows off what technology means in the hands of a true artist. Read more

Bob Mondello, NPR: An adventure yarn that is gloriously old-fashioned - and often just glorious. Read more

Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: Though the film's setup trudges and its closing is too pat, that hour or so on the raft is something special, and few would dive into the story's soul as Lee does. Read more

Lou Lumenick, New York Post: It's so hypnotically beautiful that people will be using it to calibrate their new TV monitors. Read more

Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer: Pi's story makes you believe why Pi would believe in God, sacrificer of innocents, tester of souls, creator of rapturous beauty. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: There's an audience out there for this movie, but the question is whether they will find it. Read more

Richard Roeper, Richard Roeper.com: One of the most remarkable films in recent years. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: Ang Lee's "Life of Pi" is a miraculous achievement of storytelling and a landmark of visual mastery. Read more

Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: Life of Pi puts 3D in the hands of a worldclass film artist. Ang Lee uses 3D with the delicacy and lyricism of a poet. You don't just watch this movie, you live it. Read more

Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com: I felt like I'd been invited to a seven-course dinner, and all seven turned out to be cake - and then the host insisted on delivering a lecture about how cake would bring me closer to God. Read more

Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: A movie that can't be dismissed because there is too much in it but can't be embraced because it's all spread too thin. Read more

David Germain, Associated Press: Lee and screenwriter David Magee find rich and clever ways to translate even Pi's stillest moments, the film unfolding through intricate flashbacks, whimsical voice-overs, harrowing sea hazards and exquisite flashes of fantasy and hallucination. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: Ang Lee's thrillingly audacious film transforms this inconceivable premise into visual poetry, high adventure and sheer enchantment. Read more

Calvin Wilson, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: "Life of Pi" is as enchanting as it is ambitious. Read more

Rick Groen, Globe and Mail: Every once in a long while, the right director comes across the right project at just the right moment, and things so often discordant fall into perfect harmony. Read more

Peter Howell, Toronto Star: Claudio Miranda's luminous camera, set to Mychael Danna's intoxicating score, captures all manner of wild delights. Read more

Tom Huddleston, Time Out: Flawed, yes, but marvellously ambitious, and unforgettably gorgeous to look at. Read more

Joshua Rothkopf, Time Out: The movie works on a bedrock level that many ostensible action films forget. Read more

Justin Chang, Variety: Melds a harrowing high-seas adventure with a dreamy meditation on the very nature of storytelling. Read more

Nick Schager, Village Voice: Life of Pi manages occasional spiritual wonder through its 3-D visuals but otherwise sinks like a stone. Read more

Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: "Life of Pi" both draws the audience in and encourages it to settle back, the better to enjoy its virtually nonstop display of daring, wonder and cinematic virtuosity. Read more