Movie Review: Ender’s Game
For some, Ender’s Game was the most highly anticipated sci-fi movie of the year. Based on Orson Scott Card’s classic, it had high expectations among fans. I wish I could say it delivered but the bar was set too high. The movie captures large portions of the book but fails to capture all of it. Still, sci-fans should definitely see it!
Ender Wiggin is a child prodigy being groomed for command. The human race faces a threat from the Formics, a buglike species that invaded Earth decades before but lost. Most believe they will be back. The military learned that children make the best tactical thinkers due to their flexible thinking. Ender is considered the most promising. His two older siblings, Peter and Valentine, were also promising but washed out of the program. Peter has borderline personality disorder and torments Ender. Valentine is highly compassionate and is the most important person in Ender’s life. His family life is part of what shapes him into a great leader later in the movie.
Colonel Graff recruits Ender for Battle School, the next step in the program. It is a space station where children fight combat simulations in a zero-g gymnasium. All the while the military closely monitors his progress.
The book is the clash of military training and managing the psychological development of a child. While damage is being done, the military justifies it as necessary to win a war. What does it matter if a few children are psychologically scarred for life? From a civilian perspective, what they do to Ender is just plain cruel.
Asa Butterfield does an excellent job as Ender. The movie captures Ender’s stoicism and intelligence, as well as his sensitive nature just beneath the surface. Harrison Ford is brilliant as Colonel Graff. The producers had to find several quality child actors for this movie and did a fairly good job. Ben Kingsley was an excellent choice as the legendary commander Mazer Rackham.
Unfortunately, the movie only gives a brief glimpse of Ender’s complicated childhood, as both a prodigy, and the more typical experiences. In particular it gives only a fleeting glimpse of the abuse he endured from Peter. His vicious older brother plays a major role in his later development. Valentine should’ve had more lines as well. Both are very important in the book.
Ender’s progression through the school is interesting but a little quick. The movie could’ve used the montage or some other method to speed through this but opted not to. The Mindgame is also not explained well in the movie.
The battles and later combat simulations are all extremely well done. The graphics, layout, and execution is all delivered perfectly. It is pretty close to what I imagined when I was reading the book.
The ending honors the book for the most part, but Ender’s exploration of the Mindgame is short and so his final act as commander may not make sense to someone who didn’t read the book.
Overall, this movie could’ve benefited from another two or three scenes, maybe fifteen minutes. Usually I complain movies are too long but this is one that should’ve been longer. It’s running time was 1:54, which is about average. If there is an extended version I would love to see it.
The movie stands above most of the summer blockbusters but I think it could’ve been a tiny bit better. I don’t like doing decimals or fractions, so I’m gonna go ahead and give it 5 stars.
J
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