Ender's Game

Starring: Asa Butterfield, Harrison Ford, Hailee Steinfeld, Abigail Breslin, Ben Kingsley, Viola Davis
Directed by: Gavin Hood
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action, Adventure, Science Fiction
2013

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary:In the battle against a destructive alien species, Ender Wiggins (Asa Butterfield) is looked upon as the best hope for mankind.

Review:

Tim: Despite the fact that Ender's Game was adapted from the classic science fiction novel and boasted a good cast, I couldn't get myself very excited about it. It looked okay, but it did not look great. Even though I'm an unabashed sci-fi fan, I just couldn't muster up any real enthusiasm about this film. After watching it, I can say that I enjoyed it more than I expected, but it didn't completely wow me, either.

In truth, almost everything about this movie is good. Unfortunately, nothing really approaches any level of greatness. The film does feature a good cast. Asa Butterfield makes a good Ender, and I believed that he was intelligent and strategic beyond his years. Harrison Ford makes a good grisly military commander. Hailee Steinfeld was good as Ender's friend and Abigail Breslin was good as his sister. Ben Kingsley is good as a legendary fighter. This is all positive and slightly disappointing. All these elements are solid, but there isn't one character or actor that emerges beyond the rest. There isn't anyone who gives a truly memorable performance. I wanted more from the entire cast. Director Gavin Hood needed to pull out more from each cast member.

The story itself is fairly interesting. The basic idea is that the military is recruiting children as potential generals in their army. Why, exactly, is something I never fully grasped. They are more resilient or brave, or something. Honestly, it did not make much sense to me. There is a reason why kids aren't running our military currently, and that likely won't change in the distant future. While completely hard to believe, this concept at least gives us a reason for all these kids in the movie. Once the film focuses on Ender and his experience in training, it really picks up the pace. Ender is incredibly intelligent and it's fun to see him outsmart and out think his opponents. There are some really great moments where Ender shows how strategic he really is. Those were among my favorite aspects of the film. I don't think the mental video games scenes were all that well explained. They felt disconnected from the rest of the film, even though they proved to be very important in the overall story. Hood could have done a better job connecting those scenes. The bulk of the movie takes place in training/boot camp, and those sequences are pretty fun.

The climax of the film feels a little anticlimactic, until the twist at the end. I thought it was exceptionally cool and it made me rethink everything I'd seen thus far. The ending was quite excellent, until Ender's new crusade begins, which I didn't feel much of a connection with. That could have been explained far better, because it just felt forced at the end of the movie.

In the end, I have to say that I enjoyed Ender's Game, although the movie's flaws are quite apparent. The film didn't do all that well at the box office, so there's no guarantee of a sequel. While I liked the movie, it certainly wasn't good enough to make me lament that this may be a one-off. It was a good sci-fi movie, but it never approached the levels it needed to be considered a classic. This is a bit too forgettable. I would say it was a solid entry, but I'll soon forget most of the film. That is a shame. Hood seems to have struggled as of late with connecting the characters with the audience. Without that emotional connection, this movie will never achieve its potential.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



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