So Christmas and New Year happened, blah, blah, blah, but the two main reasons I was excited in December 2012 were the film adaptations of The Hobbit and Life of Pi. It’s not often that two of your best-loved books of all time are released as movies within a week of each other.

Although I stand by my convictions that The Hobbit should have been made before the Lord of the Rings extravaganza of the early 21^st century; and that as a relatively short book, it doesn’t really merit three lengthy films all to itself, there was no way I was going to miss its long-awaited cinematic release. Having also read some less than flattering reviews, I went to see it with fairly low expectations. I had faith in Peter Jackson and Weta to make it look good, I just worried about it being drawn out so much, and about the forced addition of Lord of the Rings characters like Galadriel, Frodo, Saruman and Legolas, who technically shouldn’t be involved.

It did take a while to get going, as the ‘unexpected adventure’ didn’t really begin until Bilbo, Gandalf and the dwarves left the Shire over 40 minutes in, but the delay wasn’t caused by unnecessary padding, just by sticking closely to the original story. I’m glad that every detail of the book was included, unlike Lord of the Rings, which even in the unfeasibly long extended editions still managed to cut out huge, significant chunks of the plot.

The segment in the Shire served as a fun introduction to its many characters, and once the journey finally began, the action didn’t let up until the end. It rightly had a more comedic, family feel to it than LOTR and the CGI effects have noticeably improved even in the ten or so years since those films. The stone giants, the bunny sled, the destruction of the dwarf kingdom, the fleeting glimpses of Smaug and of course, Gollum, were among my favourite touches, and the casting was also inspired. Ian McKellen was, as always, suitably wise and good-naturedly devious as Gandalf, and I also particularly enjoyed Richard Armitage as Thorin Oakenshield and Sylvester McCoy as Radagast, the incredibly scatty and quirky Brown wizard. Seeing Being Human’s Aiden Turner smiling and wearing medieval costume with his hair even longer than usual was also a delight for me as someone already quite taken with his charms, although I do wish they’d let him keep his natural Irish accent. And Martin Freeman was just perfect in the title role. I was especially pleased about this, as I’ve loved him since The Office, but he let me down badly with his portrayal of another of my literary heroes – Arthur Dent – in the film adaptation of The Hitch-hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (I always said he’d be far more suited to the part of Ford Prefect, but did anybody listen...). Happily, he has redeemed himself recently, first with his inspired modern TV interpretation of Dr. Watson, and now as a fantastically apprehensive yet brave Bilbo Baggins.

Overall, I’m happy to say that I was very pleasantly surprised, but a bit frustrated that I must now suffer the painful 18 month wait for the middle and end of the story. It’s like 2001 all over again.

Life of Pi, on the other hand, was of huge significance to me, and I went to see it with some trepidation. Without meaning to be dramatic, the book on which this film is based quite honestly changed my life, and I absolutely love it for all its multi-layered magnificence. It’s one of few books I’ve ever read that entered my top five favourites of all time immediately after the first reading, it touched my soul like no other book has, and for many years I have enthusiastically encouraged just about everyone I know to read it. The book also interestingly divides people into two distinct types - the dreamy believers and the sceptical cynics - which all cleverly ties in with its themes of faith and hope in an increasingly harsh world. It means an awful lot to me, and I could only hope that it would mean as much to Ang Lee when he set about directing the film. It’s a book with a lot of profound things to say for itself, and I would have been extremely disappointed if the movie didn’t uphold those standards.

Thankfully, watching it only made me fall in love with Life of Pi all over again. The CGI and 3D effects were unbelievable – from the colourful depiction of life in Pondicherry, through the storm and shipwreck, to the expressions of the zoo animals, the bioluminescent Pacific ocean and the carnivorous floating island, it looked absolutely stunning. Richard Parker the tiger’s appearance and behaviour was so authentic that I had to keep reminding myself he wasn’t real.

The casting also, was spot on. Rafe Spall, Gerard Depardieu and Pi’s family did wonders with their small, supporting roles, while the four actors portraying the different stages of Pi’s life did so better than I could have possibly hoped for. Suraj Sharma (teenage Pi) and Irrfan Khan (older Pi) in particular gave astonishing performances, completely embodying the character and effortlessly moving me through fear, laughter, joy, tragedy, supreme admiration and a lot of intermittent bouts of tears, even though I already knew exactly what was coming at every turn. 

But looks and talent aside, I was mostly concerned about the heart and spirit of the book being put across correctly. I’d seen a shot in the trailer of Richard Parker’s head resting in Pi’s lap, and this mere millisecond of footage alone terrified me. The anti-anthropomorphic element of the book is one of its most important themes, and I felt extremely concerned that the lifeboat scenes may be turned into some Disney/Dr. Doolittle/Jungle Book-esque message of ‘we can all get along’, which would have completely ruined the film, and undermined the genius of the novel. Thankfully, this brief shot was justified when put into context, and Pi and Richard Parker retained their delicately balanced relationship of not-so-peaceful coexistence and healthy respect for each other without ever becoming friends. I also had a small heart attack when the older Pi mentioned that he was a ‘Catholic Hindu’, and worried that the all-important Muslim third of his multi-religious practice had been cut out, perhaps for political reasons, but much to my relief, this also later proved to be unfounded.

My only slight disappointment with the film, and it really is slight, was the toning down of the brutality between the animals, and of Pi’s reluctant descent from animal-loving vegetarian to savage hunter when his survival instinct kicks in. I totally understand why a PG rated film couldn’t be too graphic in its depiction of animals tearing each other apart, or of Pi beheading endangered sea turtles to hydrate himself with their blood, and haphazardly starting an on-board fight to the death between tiger and shark, as going by the audience in my local cinema, it really wouldn’t have been very well received or understood. But for me, it did detract a little from the animalistic side of the story, and I feel that if those characters had been human, no gore or gruesome detail would have been spared. Of course, as a peaceful vegetarian and conservationist myself, I would never condone violence or cruelty to any animal, but they are crucial and symbolic parts of this story, the animals are computer generated, and from experience of the real world and wildlife documentaries, we all know that nature can be very, very cruel, even if we don’t like to see or admit it.

Life of Pi is a beautiful, well made, intelligent, emotional and inspirational cinema experience. It’s become the first of my top five favourite books that is now also a favourite film (adaptations are usually so disappointing to me), and I think Yann Martel should be proud. If I were him, I would be swiftly enlisting Ang Lee as director of all future novel adaptations.

Anybody who saw and loved this film who hasn’t read the book, I urge you to go and do so. Immediately. I guarantee it’s even more mind-blowing and thought-provoking than the film, and if you’re one of the dreamy believers like me, then maybe it’ll change your life too.

If this is the calibre of novel adaptations this year, then I say roll on Baz Luhrmann’s treatment of The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald, and Jonathan Glazer’s version of Under the Skin by Michel Faber!

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