Ender's Game review

[JasonEvans]

I've been swamped at work lately and have not had time to do something on this film until now.

First of all, it is worth noting that I have read the book (though not the sequels) so I knew what was going on throughout the movie. I saw it with several folks who had read the books and several who had not. The folks who had not read the book were a little confused a couple times, but nothing too serious. And, bottom line -- everyone enjoyed it.



It is really tough for me to talk about it without referencing the book. The movie could not include everything that was in the novel (for example, the entire subplot about Val and Peter's activities at home while Ender is in space is left out. Peter is barely in the movie at all). But, the film tries to stay as close to the story in the book as possible.

Right about now, anyone who has not read the book is probably wondering why I bothered with that above graph. Well, here's the payoff -- because the movie is trying to cram in the many themes of the book, it ends up feeling jumbled and rushed at times. The film often races along and shows us things happening without giving us a good reason for them happening or the underlying impact of the events. It has the effect, at times, of making the movie seem rushed and forced.

The film is largely well-acted. Asa Butterfield does a very good job with Ender and is maturing into a fine young actor. Most of the other youngsters in the film similarly carry their weight well, especially Hailee Steinfeld at Petra. The adults were just so-so. Harrison Ford plays Graff in a pretty mean way. You never root for Graff nor does the movie do a good job of justifying his actions. There is never a sense he cares about the children under his charge. The other adults in the film don't really have enough screen time to have an impact.



I am not going to get into the plot too much. The story involves young adults being trained almost from birth to lead mankind into a battle with an alien species. Most of the film takes place aboard a space station where the children are trained in combat, especially in a zero-gravity chamber. I thought the movie could have used a lot more of the zero-grav Battle School contests. There are some wonderful tactical moments in the book involving these and the book does a better job at this point of showing us how Ender win's over some friends. The movie, in my opinion, raced through this part and would have been better served spending an extra ten or fifteen minutes on this important aspect of the story.

I feel like I have mostly said bad things about this flick, perhaps because I loved the book so much and wanted to see my book brought to life a bit better. The reality is that, as a film, it works and works pretty well. It is not quite as good a book adaptation as The Hunger Games, but it isn't far behind. The movie is tense and has nice effects and tells a compelling story -- even if it told a lot less of that story than I had hoped.

-Jason "I think it is worth seeing, but some of the themes are pretty complex and I doubt this becomes a runaway boxoffice hit" Evans

[Dev11]

I saw this movie last week. I am a huge fan of the book and have probably read it 5 or 6 times in the last 10 years.

I was disappointed that Peter and Valentine didn't play bigger roles in the movie, but I suppose they were the easiest to remove. I was similarly disappointed that there was very little time spent in the Battle Room.

Other than my slight grievances, I loved the movie. The animation of the mind game was excellent, the kids were much better actors than I expected, the zero gravity work was really neat, the scenery was gorgeous particular the Command School planet, and the movie flowed well enough for being based on a book that spends a lot of time in the main character's head.

I recommend it, at least for the fans of the book. You'll get a kick out of it, though hopefully not as big of a kick as Ender delivers to Bonzo (who, by the way, was definitely too small).

[Lord Ash]

Not quite as good an adaptation as The Hunger Games? Yikes... that was a TERRIBLE terrible movie.

Unfortunately keeping Enders Game rated so young people could see it will take away some of the impact that the book has. That, plus our society being a bit inured to children being involved in violence...

[weezie]

Son of weezie and his girlfriend walked out after 15 minutes. Said it was terrible. Got their $ back, too.

[wilson]

Not quite as good an adaptation as The Hunger Games? Yikes... that was a TERRIBLE terrible movie.

Unfortunately keeping Enders Game rated so young people could see it will take away some of the impact that the book has. That, plus our society being a bit inured to children being involved in violence...

I for one enjoyed The Hunger Games and found it to be a respectable and pretty faithful adaptation of the book (which I also enjoyed).
I'm more concerned about Ender's Game...I thoroughly enjoyed that book, but reviews seem to be decidedly mixed, even among those who already liked the book.

[alteran]

Not quite as good an adaptation as The Hunger Games? Yikes... that was a TERRIBLE terrible movie.

Unfortunately keeping Enders Game rated so young people could see it will take away some of the impact that the book has. That, plus our society being a bit inured to children being involved in violence...

Interesting, I thought HG was a pretty solid adaptation. But if we all liked the same things the world would be a pretty boring place.

[Dev11]

Son of weezie and his girlfriend walked out after 15 minutes. Said it was terrible. Got their $ back, too.

That's pretty harsh. So they had just made it to Battle School? What did they expect?

[weezie]

That's pretty harsh. So they had just made it to Battle School? What did they expect?

No clue, lol. He's a very experienced gamer (wow, what a skill) with plenty of "knowledge" regarding such things.
Who can plumb the depths of the male mind?

[Reisen]

Interesting, I thought HG was a pretty solid adaptation. But if we all liked the same things the world would be a pretty boring place.

Ditto. I didn't read the books, but I thought the HG movie was decent.

[Lord Ash]

Hm. I enjoyed the first Hunger Games book... Not too flashy, kept Katniss interesting and genuinely confused feeling... Really got into the nitty gritty of the games and how you stay alive against not just your enemies but the elements and your own mental breakdown. I felt the movie looked extremely cheap, glossed over both the violence and the survival aspects of the Games themselves, and didn't really present the internal turmoil that Katniss herself didn't even really identify in any way that felt real or... Well, tumultuous. Plus... MAN it looked so so so cheap. The Capitol in particular just looked like a bad sound stage and the costumes looked like homemade Halloween costumes. They definitely could have taken a page from the Fifth Element as far as the style of the Capitol. The girl on fire costume had no presence. And that terrible projection on the clouds when a tribute died? Ugh... There are teenagers out there who can do better computer graphics. I was very happy to read that the director of the new film addressed the cheap look right from the start.

Just hated that movie, after being so pleasantly surprised by the book. The second book... Not so much. The third? Absolutely terrible... Just the literary version of torture porn. Ugh.

[brevity]

I felt the movie looked extremely cheap, glossed over both the violence and the survival aspects of the Games themselves, and didn't really present the internal turmoil that Katniss herself didn't even really identify in any way that felt real or... Well, tumultuous.

Maybe that's because the book is told in first person, and the movie isn't. That alone made me like the movie more than the book, but both could have used some improvement.

[YmoBeThere]

The second book... Not so much. The third? Absolutely terrible... Just the literary version of torture porn. Ugh.

I concur, the second book was a struggle and the third should not have been written, it would have been the kinder thing on the part of the author. I'm quite surprised the second was made into a film, but the $ opportunity must have been compelling. Making the 3rd into a film would be a tragedy.

[snowdenscold]

Reading a book written in the 1st person, present tense is just a strange experience to begin with.
Is that a more common feature in the YA genre? I have almost no familiarity with it, and Hunger Games is the first time I've come across the style.

[gotoguy]

I read the book in 1986 while on vacation with my wife a year before we were married. I was so engrossed she threatened to leave if I didn't adjust my priorities. We laugh about it now but she will not see the movie.

After I saw Jason's post on Halloween I went to an early showing in Atlanta the same night. Non withstanding the low positive scores on Rotten Tomatoes I thought it was excellent. I thought it stayed true to the story line with the exception of the Valentine-Peter Demosthenes Locke side plot which was entirely omitted. A decision necessary due to time limitations of the script. The special effects were very good and I was happy to see someone vomit in zero gravity because I am sure I would have. If I had a quibble, I would have preferred more battle room scenes.

They did a good job with the mind game also. My take: If you enjoyed the book the movie is a must see, but the movie stands well on its own in the sci fi genre.

[kAzE]

Thanks for the review, Jason! Ender's Game has been my favorite book since the first time I read it, and I've read all the sequels. (By the way, if any of you liked Ender's Game, I would HIGHLY recommend Ender's Shadow, which tells the story of Ender's Game, but from the perspective of Bean. It's REALLY good)

So obviously, I'm going to check out the film, but unfortunately, I'm currently living in China, so I'm going to have to wait a few months for it to be released in theaters here. While it's disappointing to hear that you weren't super impressed with the film, I can't say I'm surprised. Considering how huge a cult following the book has, it would have had to be a masterpiece to live up to the book's reputation. Therefore, I'm going to watch the film with no real expectations, and just enjoy it for what it is. I think sometimes, when you go into a movie expecting too much, you end more disappointed than you would if you had just not expected anything.

[alteran]

I thought it stayed true to the story line with the exception of the Valentine-Peter Demosthenes Locke side plot which was entirely omitted. A decision necessary due to time limitations of the script.

Personally, I think that's a good decision. The incredible prominence of the three Wiggins siblings was really a bit much-- it violated the "one history-altering person per nuclear family" rule. Particularly glaring when the parents were total non-entities.

[BD80]

Personally, I think that's a good decision. The incredible prominence of the three Wiggins siblings was really a bit much-- it violated the "one history-altering person per nuclear family" rule. Particularly glaring when the parents were total non-entities.

His siblings' prominence is the reason Ender (a third) was allowed!

[alteran]

His siblings' prominence is the reason Ender (a third) was allowed!

Not so. They had no prominence at all. His siblings were 4 (Peter) and 2 (Valentine) when Ender was born, the children of unknowns.

His parents were granted a third because Ender's siblings tested well in whatever aptitude/genetic tests were relevant for 4 and 2 year-olds being assessed for the military school.

FWIW, I thought that just that one element-- that both of Ender's siblings became history-altering figures independently, and in their own right-- was weak.

JMHO.

[tbyers11]

His siblings' prominence is the reason Ender (a third) was allowed!

His parents were granted a third because Ender's siblings tested well in whatever aptitude/genetic tests were relevant for 4 and 2 year-olds being assessed for the military school.

I believe you are both saying the same thing.

Peter and Val had not yet become prominent but their aptitude tests suggested that they might be. Thus, Papa and Mama Wiggin were allowed by the government to have a third kid because he was likely to score highly on the same tests and be a strong candidate for military school

[alteran]

I believe you are both saying the same thing.

Peter and Val had not yet become prominent but their aptitude tests suggested that they might be. Thus, Papa and Mama Wiggin were allowed by the government to have a third kid because he was likely to score highly on the same tests and be a strong candidate for military school

Actually, what I'm saying is, "Having one sibling be Alexander, one sibling be Socrates, and one sibling be a combo of Machiavelli and Lenin, I always thought that was a bit much and a weak element of a great novel. I think leaving that out of the movie was a good idea. YMMV."