Critics are stunned by the visuals in Life of Pi, Ang Lee's take on the novel about a boy and a tiger struggling to survive at sea. There's some debate, however, over whether the film's story and grand theological questions hold up to its vision:
- The Los Angeles Times calls the film a "masterpiece": It's "a grand adventure so cinematically bold, and a spiritual voyage so quietly profound," that you hope it never ends, writes Betsy Sharkey. "So magical and mystical is this parable, it's as if the filmmaker has found the philosopher's stone."