The movie, Life of Pie, Dead in the Water

Having read & loved the Man Booker Prize novel (2002,) Life of Pi, by Yan Martel, I was interested in seeing the film but was perplexed how it would transcend to film.  The story is of a 16 year old boy, Pi, the sole survivor of a shipwreck in the Pacific who manages to co-exist in a life boat with a Bengal tiger for weeks at sea.  The brilliant novel read as a swift adventure tale of survival and inner-strength with a mystifying ending.  The movie while beautifully filmed and wonderfully acted (including the computer generated tiger,) was a religious saga that stalled @ sea despite the terrifying storms and intriguing sea creatures.  More importantly, the movie's ending did not provide the poignant impact of Martel's novel by having a grown-up Pi recount his ordeal to a writer in search of a story. The power struggle between Pi & the tiger turned too soft & too much like Tom Hanks & "Wilson."  And, if I'm going to be hit over the head with religious messages, I'm going to duck for shelter.  For the Life of me, save yourself from seeing this film, it sank.  Read the novel instead.