Ender's Game

Welcome to another episode of Lights....Camera....Popcorn!

Today's review is Ender's Game.

Written & Directed by Gavin Hood.

Based on the book - "Ender's Game" written by Orson Scott Card.

Review #234

MPAA Rating: Rated PG-13 for some violence, sci-fi action and thematic material..

Run Time: 114 min

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Cast

Asa Butterfield ...Ender Wiggin

Harrison Ford ...Colonel Graff

Hailee Steinfeld ...Petra Arkanian

Abigail Breslin ...Valentine Wiggin

Ben Kingsley ...Mazer Rackham

Viola Davis ...Major Gwen Anderson

Aramis Knight ...Bean

Suraj Partha ...Alai

Moises Arias ...Bonzo Madrid

Khylin Rhambo ...Dink Meeker

Jimmy 'Jax' Pinchak ...Peter Wiggin

Nonso Anozie ...Sergeant Dap

Gavin Hood has become notoriously famous for one thing. He directed the disgustingly bad X-Men Origins: Wolverine. That movie was so bad it not only killed whatever momentum Hugh Jackman had from playing Wolverine in a solo film. It killed a potential Marvel franchise. Now in his defense he directed that film off a script written by David Benioff. Which is stunning to think how bad it was  since he's done such great work on Game of Thrones. However, the script was so jumbled and off with it's mythology that it appeared that the indestructible mutant did in fact have a kill spot.

Fast forward a few years later. Jackman and James Mangold went on to do a much better Wolverine film and Gavin Hood set out to adapt a very popular young adult book series. Starting with the first title. Ender's Game.

The trailers and story concept were very intriguing and then I saw the credits and noticed that Hood was not only the director. He also wrote the script. So does Hood do a better job with Ender's Game than he did with X-Men Origins: Wolverine?

It depends on who you ask but for me the answer for me is surprisingly yes.

Plot

Young Ender Wiggin is recruited by the International Military to lead the fight against the Formecs, a genocidal alien race which nearly annihilated the human race in a previous invasion. 

The first thing the film does is establish a rather expansive back story. This is of course common when adapting books into movies. So to avoid being bogged down we get the also common 10-15 minute montage that scrolls through several decades of the film's history through the use of imagery and the ever popular voice over. It's a major cheat but sometimes it can't be avoided and in this case it was just the right length to get the point across and move on with the rest of the narrative.

We then get to meet our hero Ender. His back story is also microwaved but it was presented in a way that makes you feel like you've known him forever. They do this by showcasing what makes him so special which is his gift for strategy. This kid is to be blunt a pip squeak. He's got zero physical prowess. This could be a side effect of his younger age to the other children in the film but that clearly was the point. Ender's true strength comes from the muscles between his ears and it's here where the film does a good job of showing us this. Ender's application of strategy combined with basic psychology sets a tone for what he and us as the audience are going to experience.

The film proceeds to go through the expected arc of Ender's story. He goes to military school. He trains. He gets promoted. He trains some more. The one constant throughout this entire tale is the presence of Colonel Graff. He has a a lot invested in Ender's growth as a person and as a soldier. The second part is what makes his character such a colossal prick. This guy is a A-1 jerk off to Ender and pretty much everyone else in the film. Which was a tricky thing to deal with. His motives were sound and understandable but his execution was questionable at best. Especially with Ender. This film poses a very interesting debate.

Graff sees the big picture and doesn't care what it takes because without Ender the world will end. This is the dilemma he and the film faces. The other side of the coin is the blatant reality that Ender is just a kid and no human being should be subjected to the kind of pressure that is placed on him. Regardless of age. It's a delicate balance that Graff tries to maintain but fails at miserably. You'll see how towards the end but the signs were beginning to show way before the final scenes. Despite the prickly performance by Ford, he's countered nicely by Butterfield. Hood does a nice job reminding us that Ender sees through people and follows patterns. Including his superior military officers. This creates a nice dynamic between him and his authoritarians. His incessant questioning of the established order and chain of command give us a glimpse of what Ender is truly capable of and why he's seen as the world's last hope.

There are plenty of other satisfying moments in this film but it's pointless to delve into them for the obvious reasons. Rest assured that Ender's Game does do it's part to keep you entertained and interested in the path of the film's hero. That being said, the film isn't perfect by any means. There were some sub plots that I felt required more fleshing out or complete removal. Particularly with Ender's family. It's a focal point with the character. Primarily the relationship with his sister and brother but it was shortchanged at the expense of the main plot. Now I'm not sure if this is because the book handled it the same way. I highly doubt that but it's not out of the realm of possibility considering there are multiple books in this series. The film plays it as if sequels are already in the bank and that is not a wise tactic.

The money seems to tell a different story. As of this writing. The film has made $62,730,921 worldwide. The film's only been out a few weeks but that's not a promising figure with a budget that exceeded over $100 million. Who knows what the future holds for the Ender's Game series. They may take another shot at it. The film left itself for another installment. What's curious to me is the possibility that the lack of return on this film is from a result of angry fans who didn't care for the adaptation. My co host on my podcast Hulk Spoils Hollywood (shameless plug) is a HUGE fan of the book and couldn't wait to see this film. If you've listened to our show you would have come across us talking about it several times (another shameless plug). I'm interested to see what his reaction was to the film as I'm sure he's interested to know my thoughts. Be sure to keep an eye for our Ender's Game episode coming soon.

Final shameless plug.

On the 5 star scale. Ender's Game gets 3.5 stars with a "Go See It!" recommendation.

That's a wrap for today.

Until Next Episode...."I'll Save You A Seat!"

"D"