Ender's Game - Das große Spiel

As a fan of the book, I really wasn't sure I wanted to see this movie. Great books hardly ever adapt into good films. But my friend wanted to see it, so I agreed to tag along on opening night.

I have to say, as a movie, it is genuinely enjoyable. The visuals are starkly entrancing without being distracting. The casting is pitch-perfect - Harrison Ford and Asa Butterfield, in particular, do a great job. The ending is particularly well done (don't worry - it wasn't really spoiled by the trailer).

The problem is, it's really just a caricature of the book. The drama in Battle School moves too quickly, the characters of Peter and Valentine are almost completely absent, and even Ender's video game is sadly underdone. I'm not usually a fan of splitting books into multiple movies, but this is one where two films would have done it justice. Also, the kids are just too old - there's an ironic moment in the movie where two officers talk about how conscripting kids under 15 "used to be illegal", yet all the actors playing the kids look 15 or older!

Still, it's a fun ride, and if you hadn't read the book these flaws really wouldn't be apparent. Definitely see it in the theater if you can - the battle room scenes are best on a big screen.

It seems as though all the great sci-fi takes forever to become films. It took over seventy years to give John Carter his big-screen debut. I had a copy of L. Ron Hubbard's Battlefield Earth that claimed that it would become a motion picture soon, but that never happened until almost twenty years later (and many would probably argue that it should not have been made). Ender's Game is another one of the best sci-fi novels I've read, and a film for it has been in development for something like ten years. So, in 2013, I couldn't have been more excited.

Ender's Game is kinda like The Hunger Games set in outer space, only more aggressive, more fantastic, and more original. EG has its fair share of special-effects-laden spectacle, with massive swarms of spaceships and incredible planetscapes filling up the screen. Fortunately, it's not all just action for the sake of action, it is all a direct consequence of the story. When the space battles aren't breaking out, the film still moves very fast with loads of character-driven conflicts.

The film still maintains most of its focus on telling the story, and it does hit up all the necessary plot points that were in the original novel. Some major subplots get cut out, the training/battle scenes are truncated, and various other liberties are taken, but for a two-hour movie, the filmmakers did their best to cover the entire plot, right up to its bizarre ending. A lot of scenes are exactly as I pictured them from reading the book (even the fantasy CGI mindgame scenes, which I always fancied should be animated Pixar style, and it turns out they were!), and the dark aggression of the book is mostly translated well into the film. Best of all, the book's biggest twists still bear some decent weight in the movie's narrative.

Unfortunately, some things are lost in translation. Just as it is with The Hunger Games, the specific nuances of the characters, their relationships, their emotions, and their overall pathos is better conveyed in the narrative of the book than it is on film. Ender's relationships with his friends (and even his enemies) are left at the surface level, and never really reaches the same depths as the novel. Some things remain unexplained or glossed over. Deeper themes are never fully explored. Although one can't expect every single thing in the book to make it into the film, EG falls just a little short in immersing the audience in the characters. It may be easy to root for Ender when he stands up to his bullies and commands a whole fleet, but the film won't leave that much of a lasting impression.

As a film, it looks pretty slick and stylish, with solid photography and editing. Acting can be rather mixed: I think all of the child actors did their jobs really well. Harrison Ford gets the most grief for his role, for he pretty much phones it in, but I still didn't think he was as terrible as other reviewers make him out to be. Ben Kingsley plays it kinda creepily in his role, and Viola Davis is pretty much herself. Writing in this film is okay, but has a rather bad penchant for exposition. This production has some good-looking sets, props, costumes, and special effects. The music score is not bad either.

As usual, the book is better than the movie, but I think the movie still does a good job as an adaptation. I expect that average audiences unfamiliar with the book will think this movie is okay, but might miss out on certain nuances. Book fans might gripe that the film doesn't do justice to certain things. In any case, I think the movie is worth a rent to all dedicated sci-fi fans.

4/5 (Entertainment: Very Good | Story: Good | Film: Pretty Good)

Apparently Enders Game was considered a flop and only just broke even. Hard to understand, because it's a truly excellent movie. The plot is very good, the cast outstanding, the production top quality and even though it's science fiction, it's very believable. And something else; it was very poignant. Overall far better than the Maze Runner and Divergent series. Oh, and Harrison Ford was perfect for the part.

Ender's Game is not a perfect film. It rushes through certain important points, and leaves out other parts altogether, instead what you get is a flawed but enjoyable movie that ultimately succeeds, because it always keeps its goal in sight.

Certain things about this movie such as the justification for child soldiers, Ansible Technology, and the Genius of the main group of Kids will be best understood by the book readers.

The film has wonderful visuals with exciting CGI to showcase the important Battle Room.

The Acting by Harrison Ford and Asa Butterfield is one of the strengths this project has. They maintain a tense and believable relationship that is very much like the original story.

Ultimately the climax of this movie and its main message is what sets it apart from many other Sci-Fi films. The emotion is very much there, and anyone willing to give this film a try will not be disappointed.

"Ender's Game," directed by Gavin Hood, is a visually impressive science fiction film based on Orson Scott Card's beloved novel. While the movie boasts strong performances and stunning special effects, it ultimately falls short of capturing the depth and complexity of the source material, resulting in a somewhat superficial and rushed experience.

The film follows the story of Ender Wiggin (Asa Butterfield), a young prodigy recruited by the military to train as a commander in the fight against an alien race known as the Formics. The premise is intriguing, and the movie excels in its depiction of futuristic space battles and military training. The special effects are top-notch, particularly the zero-gravity combat training sequences and the epic final battle. These scenes are visually captivating and do justice to the imaginative world Card created.

Asa Butterfield delivers a solid performance as Ender, effectively portraying his character's intelligence, determination, and vulnerability. Harrison Ford, as Colonel Graff, and Viola Davis, as Major Anderson, provide strong support, adding gravitas to the film. Ben Kingsley, despite limited screen time, makes a memorable impression as Mazer Rackham. However, the standout performance comes from Hailee Steinfeld as Petra Arkanian, who brings warmth and depth to her character, making her one of the most relatable figures in the story.

Despite these strengths, "Ender's Game" struggles with its pacing and narrative depth. The film rushes through key plot points, sacrificing character development and emotional resonance in the process. The training sequences, which should be the heart of the story, feel abbreviated and lack the necessary build-up to make Ender's rapid rise to command believable. The relationships between characters, particularly the camaraderie among the young recruits, are underdeveloped, missing the richness of the novel.

The film's attempt to condense the complex themes of the book into a two-hour runtime results in a disjointed and superficial narrative. The moral and ethical dilemmas that Ender faces are not explored in sufficient depth, diminishing the impact of the story's conclusion. The twist at the end, while visually spectacular, lacks the emotional weight it should carry because the audience hasn't had enough time to fully connect with Ender's journey.

In addition, the film's portrayal of the Formics and their motivations is somewhat lacking. The novel delves into the complexities of this alien race, presenting them as more than just a faceless enemy. The movie, however, reduces them to a simplistic antagonist, missing an opportunity to add layers to the story and provoke deeper thought about the nature of conflict and understanding.