Review of Ender's Game (2013) by Bruce722 — 01 Nov 2013

I will start by saying that Ender's Game was a really good movie, maybe even great. The acting, especially by Asa Butterfield and Harrison Ford, was flawless and the supporting cast, however underutilized, were phenomenal as well. The special effects were incredible and the story, supported by a fantastic score, was very well told. Honestly, this is truly one of those rare stories that both children and adults alike could really appreciate. There were some things I thought could've been improved on. There were some areas where time passed very quickly and if I hadn't read the book, I think I wouldn't been a bit confused. I think using some cinematic tricks for time lapsing quickly could've been used to create a better flow and make certain elements seem more genuine. To be honest though, as a stand alone film, that's all I really feel was flawed. Obviously it wasn't exactly like the book, nor did I expect it to be. It's just about impossible to condense an 8+ hour novel into a 2 hour movie. However, there were also some things that they altered from the source material that I didn't care for, I'll explain here:

***SPOILERS*** As I said, they had to cut some things out and most of it was fine. They eliminated some of the minor characters (like Shen and Crazy Tom and a few others) and also some of the development of the Battle School dynamic. Those cuts came across perfectly fine. They also skipped some of his progress in said school and to do so they altered the way he developed the Dragon Army. Again, this was done really well and stayed true to the spirit of the source material. This trend continued throughout the story arc. However, there were a few changes that I didn't like. The biggest thing (in terms of creating a void from the book) was the entire Valentine and Peter dynamic with Demosthenes and Locke. While I didn't expect that to have been included in detail, I would've liked some sort of mention of the goings on. Maybe she could've mentioned it briefly during their conversation at the lake. It didn't have to be explained much but it was a very critical element, not to the book necessarily but to the story later on. I think they could've found a way to touch on it. While on Valentine, the most glaring of the changes was the ending (again, this is a SPOILER). In the end, Ender sends Val a message saying he's left to explore the universe. There are a few issues with this. For one, Val is supposed to be with him. She is an integral part in the entire saga so if they plan on making this into a franchise, which supposedly they do, how are they going to get them back together? Also, his abrupt departure creates somewhat of a plot hole. Where is Ender going? In the book, he doesn't leave for over a decade, which allows for other colonies to begin on other planets. In the movie, however, no other planet is colonized, so again, where is he going? What they should've done was develop his relationship with Petra a bit less in order to include more development of his love for his sister, Val. Then he could've written her a letter stating that he planned on leaving at some point but still had some things to take care of where he was at, you know, politics. This would give time for her to write back telling him she's going to meet him there and they could then leave together whenever he was ready. It wouldn't have taken almost any additional time and it would've fixed two glaring issues. The others problems I had weren't as major but still bugged me a bit. The second to last battle at Command School was a failed mission in the movie, however, Ender NEVER loses in the book. He comes close during that mission but he does NOT lose. His genius feels somewhat affected by them making him lose that mission. Lastly, they changed Graff's character quite a bit. In the book, he is stern with Ender and at times a jerk but he truly loves the kid and would do anything for him. In the movie, they almost made Anderson the kind one and Graff a horrible person. I didn't care for that change at all.

Nonetheless, the movie was still great and I highly suggest anyone who enjoys science fiction, or just great movies in general, to check it out. In my opinion, it's definitely worth the price of entry.