Ender's Game

I have a few things in common with author Orson Scott Card background-wise but I haven't read any of his books. I have seen a few videos that he wrote the scripts for and I did see him in real life before but that's it. It doesn't matter all that much anyways because he is the producer of this film as opposed to the screenwriter. I am kind of glad I haven't read "Ender's Game" because it acts as a litmus test to see if a new fan will be entertained. For the most part, I was and it is thanks to the casting & story adaptation.

I will try to focus my attention on the handing of the story on film as opposed to the original plotline found in the book. I am grateful for how the filmmakers handled the fight with Bonzo on the big screen. I felt it was more appropriate. The book takes place over the course of ten years while the movie consolidates the time frame of the original plot and this change was necessary. The movie couldn't skip ahead ten years in time because it would require a casting change for the role of Ender and it would disrupt our emotional connection with his character. The only problem I had with the adaptation was the climax. Just as Ender is lied to in his graduation simulation, the filmmakers deceive those of us in the audience who are new to this story. We long for climax in a movie and we watch this scene thinking that it will lead up to a climax when Ender goes to war for real. Ender and his team appear to have won but we then question whether they have. Maybe they failed the test. Then comes the truth and we realize that we have just unknowingly watched the climax. We are somewhat let down just as Ender is devastated. The filmmakers took steps to entertain long time fans but the ending of the movie doesn't work perfectly for "launchies" like me. In the book, Ender performs this hardhearted act in the simulation so as to be expelled because he has had enough. I like that angle and I wish the filmmakers had included it in the film version. Despite these criticisms, I enjoyed the story of the movie. I am appreciative for the various ways that we are able to understand what is going on in Ender's head such as the mind game and his relationship with Valentine.

The casting was very well done and it did so much for the film's entertainment value. While I enjoyed Asa Butterfield's performance in "Hugo" more, he still did amazing as Ender. He creates an underdog that you can later accept as a leader. Harrison Ford, like Leonardo DiCaprio for example, is one of those actors that can easily shake off a persona from any other previous film and be original. This is how he can be in so many big movies and not become type cast. I was very entertained by Ford as Colonel Graff. This is his first film that I was really able to take notice of the scar on his chin thanks to the size of the IMAX screen. Oscar-nominated actresses Hailee Steinfeld (from "True Grit") and Abigail Breslin did their jobs very well. They portray genuine love and care for the character of Ender. I also enjoyed the performance of Viola Davis who is a two time Oscar-nominated actress herself. Every time I see her in a movie, she also fully becomes the character and more so than Ford. It is such that I fail to recognize her until the end credits. Butterfield and Ben Kingsley were in "Hugo" together and I can see how that helped in this film. In early attempts at the film adaption of "Ender's Game", Jake Lloyd was being considered as Ender and Will Smith as Rackham. I kind of wish I could see the latter but Kingsley's performance is obviously superior to anything Smith could have come up with for this character. Wolfgang Peterson at one time was being considered as the director and I also wish I could have seen that. I didn't like director Gavin Hood's "X-men Origins: Wolverine" but this time, he had a much better story to direct and he did a great job. The producer list of "Ender's Game" is full of familiar names besides Card such as Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman and Robert Chartoff. The special effects in the movie were pretty good but the simulations at Command School could have been better handled to assist with the story being told. They were cool but too similar to video game.

This movie was good enough that I believe sequels based on the other existing books will be soon to come. As a newcomer to "Ender's Game", I was entertained because of the acting and basic story but I feel that the movie may have been geared more towards long time fans. The filmmakers did take into consideration audience members who had not read the book and that is all I can ask for I guess.

3.5 Stars