So, I got dragged to go see this movie in the theater and in 3D. I really didn't know anything about this movie except that I didn't want to see it and especially not in 3D. The movie has made an impressive $450 million worldwide, greatly surpassing it's $120 million budget. Oh, and it's been nominated for 11 Oscars (picture, director, adapted screenplay, editing, cinematography, art direction, visual effects, sound, sound editing, original score, and original song. whew). So that makes this review a part of my Best Picture Pact (where I watch and review all films nominated for Best Picture).
The movie is adapted from a novel about a boy who becomes stranded in the ocean with a Bengal Tiger in a small lifeboat for almost a year. He was traveling on a freight ship with the animals from his family's zoo on their way from India to Canada when they hit a storm which causes the ship to sink. While there was an actual story of a man being stranded with a jaguar on the ocean, this story is fictional.
Okay, I'll admit the story was pretty good even though it's one of those 'heart-warming' survival stories. I had forgotten what the movie poster looked like, so I didn't see the sinking of the ship coming at all. The story was actually quite entertaining and well paced even though the majority took place on the ocean. It had all of the elements to make it 'heart warming'; family, animals, survival, humor, etc. I also liked how it didn't shy away from the animals or people trying to kill each other and I admired how they didn't give this tiger unrealistic human qualities that you might see in some other movies. I haven't read the source novel so I have no idea how well it was adapted or not.
Okay, this movie was beautiful. Albeit, most of it was added in post-production, but it sure was pretty. Was 3D necessary? No. Hugo still remains to be the only movie in which I believe 3D was appropriate. As you can tell, i'm not a fan of the medium. I think it took away from the beautiful imagery in this movie. The color palette used in the movie was just breathtaking and some of the scenes of 'nature' were awesome.What I was most impressed with, well the cinematography was up there, was the performance from the lead actor, Suraj Sharma. He did fantastic. I totally believed that he had been shipwrecked for months. This was a challenging role no doubt, and he completely pulled it off and he's only about 20. I'm surprised the movie got so many nominations but not one for best actor.
Well, I'll admit that this was a pretty good movie. Best Picture? Not sure. This is only the second I've viewed from the entire nomination list. Personally, I like Silver Linings Playbook better. This was a beautiful epic journey, no doubt. It was maybe a little too over-the-top for my personal taste for Best Picture however, and somewhat predictable. The imagery alone made this movie worth it. I'd recommend non-3D however. "You cannot know the strength of your faith until it is tested".
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