Ender's Game (2013)

[John Marston]

This is precisely why they should have split the novel (and it's companion) into three movies. As one movie, it had NO option to do anything but rush through everything. I'm not surprised by the reception of some of the people who haven't read the book: as I was leaving the theater, I overhead a girl claiming the movie changed her life and it was amazing.

Problem is they didn't know if the movie would be a success ( and thanks to Summits shitty marketing it looks like it won't be) so it was probably better to tell the whole story and make it self contained

[RobinHood26]

Really?  What part?

 

Everything, it was just flat out bad. The acting felt staged, Ender getting picked on looked like you pulled any of us off the forums to direct it. The blocking and cinematography were just boring. I just found it to be poorly made and the pacing to be all over the place. 

 

It started as a solid D then worked its way to a C- for me. 

Edited March 1, 2014 by Jay Hollywood

[BiffMan]

This is precisely why they should have split the novel (and it's companion) into three movies. As one movie, it had NO option to do anything but rush through everything.I'm not surprised by the reception of some of the people who haven't read the book: as I was leaving the theater, I overhead a girl claiming the movie changed her life and it was amazing.

 

I'm always happy for anyone who enjoys themselves at any movie and I agree it works best on its own merits.  I would have enjoyed splitting it into 2 or 3 movies (or just a miniseries on HBO or such) but I think they could have satisfied me fine in one movie if they just focused a little more on Ender's growth as a commander.

[John Marston]

*whispers* I liked this movie more than Thor 2

[Kvikk Lunsj]

*whispers* I liked this movie more than Thor 2

Do not say this on the Thor board. 

[Mauro Teixeira]

So yeah, I've had a few days to think about it.The first time I saw EG was in an IMAX showing, but since I'm a book fan I spent the entire movie comparing it to the book. And even though I got a clear picture of the flaws the film had, I didn't really get to enjoy it that first time. I had the opportunity to go see it again the next day (non-IMAX) without the pressure of expectations and I actually enjoyed the movie a lot more (it's a shame the sound and picture were not on the same level as IMAX, but you can't have everything).So yeah, I liked the movie. It has problems, sure, but generally it is a nice movie and if you can put asside directing and script flaws, you can actually find a lot of heart to the movie and you will probably leave the theatre thinking about those themes.Let's just take this out of the way: YES, the book is better. It usually always is. Even though it's a pretty faithfull adaptation, there wasn't time for the political subplots and there are a few things the movie simply can't convey.That being said, lets start the review:* SPOILERS FROM NOW ON *Directing wise, the film was simply weird and all over the place. There were parts very well achieved, just to be followed by ridiculous scenes, followed by others that could have been better.I found the first 5 minutes very good (while he is at "school"). The confrontation with his brother was probably the worst thing about the movie - sure, it serves to establish that his brother is a psycopath, but why did Ender agree to that? Why did he put up with that? That horrible moment ends as quickly as it begins, fortunately, but without any explanation whatsoever. Followed by that, you have the family dinner, which is nice again... so yeah, all over the place.Personally, I liked Harrison Ford and Viola Davis interactions quite a lot. In fact, I think it actually improved on the book because in the film you actually understand what's their role in the academy while in the book that is not always clear.The first time I saw it, I thought that even though it was a faithfull adaptation, you did lose a lot of the book because of the pacing. While in the book you have dozens of Zero-G battles that Ender has to win, one by one, and the reader starts to understand just how brilliant Ender is (and how tired he is becoming as well), in the movie you loose much of that because you just have like 2 or 3 of those battles and Ender's tactics are not as impressive as they could be.However, after watching it for the seconde time, disconnected from the book, I think GA will enjoyed it anyway. It may seem fast, but it wasn't that much of a problem to me the second time I saw it.They changed the way Bonzo's fight went down. It didn't bother me too much, and it served to show that Ender was afraid to become like his brother Peter. The converstation with his sister only half-way convinced me.From that moment on until the climax of the movie (that no one saw coming), I thought everything was very well achieved.As for the actual climax... it didn't have that impact like when I read the book for the first time, but I guess that is to be expected. Either way, there was room for improvement there. Still, Asa Butterfield and Harrison Ford deliver beautifully in those moments.Regarding the ending of the movie (the thing that split the audience) I just have one problem with it: it wasn't told from the aliens point of view. In the book it becames clear how (and why) the war started from the alien point of view and that was probably the strong point of the book for me. I would have prefered the queen had showed Ender a narrated flashback (or something) from their PoV rather than her silence.* NO MORE SPOILERS FROM NOW ON *The reviews I read mostly said the script was weak, and even though I don't usually pick up on those things, I did find a couple of ridiculous dialogues that almost made me laugh for the wrong reasons.Regarding the actors performance: top-notch.Possible one of the only recent films where Harrison Ford is actually likable and is commited to the character - he was trully great. Asa Butterfield delivers Ender perfectly and in some parts of the movie he does have a commanding aura arround him, but he never looses the essence of Ender - commanding but accessible.I thought Viola Davis did a great job as Major Anderson, somewhat elevating the character and providing a nice contrast to Harrison Ford.Ben Kingsley is somewhat unimpressive (even if not flat out bad) and so was Abigail Breslin as Valentine. I did like Hailee Steifeld, however.The rest of the kid cast is, well... unbalanced just like kids: they either pull it off in some scenes, or they are flat out bad in other parts of the movie.Regarding VFX: excelent. With only 110M$ they did a great job with CGI and photography, imho.On the sound level, it's great. Steve Jablonsky scored this and the score is really good, I even stayed a bit after the credits just so I could hear the music in the credits.Conclusion: It is a good movie with a interesting story that raises many questions (What makes a good leader? Do the means justify the ends? The way we win matters?) but in the end it doesn't really answer any of these questions. Instead it leaves it to the viewer to make his own mind about it (and is that so bad?). I do have to agree with some critics that say the movie is too ambitious story-wise, though.Despite all this, I can't shake the feeling that it would have been better in the hands of another more talented director, preferably with a new script.GRADE: B+

Edited November 13, 2013 by mtX

[ladyevenstar22]

i loved it , i've never read the book , heck hadnt even heard of this untill recently 

 

i found the story original , so much better than the hunger games as far as alternative future where kids play important role

 

i was engaged from the go and that has a lot to do with asa butterfield , what a great young actor  (he's the kid from hugo right?) he does a great job of carrying the movie as the title character 

 

i was really impressed by his command of the script  , he really nailed it for me and harrison was great too , i could feel the conflict he had as to his motivations for speed tracking ender's education and ascent , thought his and viola davis interaction on that subject very interesting 

 

still i would have like for them to spend more time showing her having sessions with him 

perhaps ender could have question a bit more why he was rising in the ranks so quickly 

but these are not points that deterred me from enjoying the movie , i can see why people complain of movie rushing a lot but i saw it as there was a ticking bomb timeline , they had to prepare him as much as possible and as quick as possible 

 

i will say this though near the end 30mn left ,i did wonder when where they actually going to go to war and be in the real situation as oppose to simulation , but explained it away by thinking maybe there'll be a sequel? with the actual war itself

 

i should have known something was up when the boss showed up to watch a simulation but i didnt , all i thought then was if ender succeed he'll have to do the same thing in real , it was very bold what he did , i know he's upset but he made the right tactical decisions to quote spock the lives of the many outweight the lives of the few 

we'll never know what he would have done otherwise , that's a choice ford character took and from his pov it paid off in the end he did exactly what he told them he does to opponents destroy them so they can never come back attacking again 

 

but he's a kid , he has a heart and he saved the baby bug , i sure hope she knows it and doesnt attack them in a far far away future 

 

this is def in my top 5 of scifi movies i've seen this year  along with oblivion and star trek into darkness

 

ps: anyone felt for a sec like the bugs small ships looked like cylons ships

 

i give this a resounding A 

 

I remember last week thinking i have no idea what this is about haven't seen the trailer but hey its  scifi that's good enough reason to go see it ! 

 

next saturday captain phillips then if its still there ...

[Jack Nevada]

The other kid character should've been fleshed out more, but other than that I liked it quite a lot.

[DeeCee]

Randy Quaid was unrecognisable under those tatoos. I thought I'd read the book in the 80's but after now watching the movie I don't thing I have. A solid enough film but it did seem to rush through events at times. The child actors were good and Ford was nicely menacing. B.

[bcf26]

As a fan of the book, and after watching the movie in theaters of the second time   I have appreciated how this is turned into a movie. A two-part movie would actually fit because the story in the book is very complex than what was shown in the movie. I actually agree on everything that mTX said in his review. I'm just sad that it didn't do well in the box office. And I might be in the minority here, but I was a little disappointed at the ending or the last ten minutes because it wasn't the ending of the book. Oh well, I give it B+/A-. The best sci-fi movie I have watched this year.

[TheMovieman]

Ender's Game was one of those movies I didn't love yet didn't hate, it's just a good movie that managed to keep my attention until the end, and yet I doubt I'll remember anything about it in a week. The biggest positive is Asa Butterfield and the visual effects are quite good. However, the story never hit the mark although I did like the semi twist at the end.

 

***½/*****, (B, 6.8/10, 2.75/4)

[DoctorWho]

Man, this was really good, I want a sequel!

[Omario]

movie wasnt bad. was so and so throughout until the end. That was an amazing final battle and the music was cool too. Good ending aswell.

[Lordmandeep]

The film was like a rolling boulder.

 

Started weak and the themes and messages and question began to be asked.

 

The final battle and its ethical implications were quite a novelty for such a film.

 

 

B+ 

 

 

I think for the message of the film and the way it ends, it is at least a B level film. 

[Klingo]

Graphics in training and battles were good.  But didn't like the acting and the kid getting promoted from school to battle school and so on in short amount of time just kind of went over my head.  But I understand they were trying to push the story.  Haven't read the book.

 

Give it a C.

[4815162342]

Very good movie, but needed some serious breathing room. A lot of important or at least useful/helpful plot points and character development was compressed a good margin. The only supporting character we really got a good handle on was Petra. For example they demoted Peter to just a low-grade resentful bully whereas he's really a terrifyingly brilliant and manipulative sociopath.The revelation scene was done masterfully, Asa Butterfield's acting there destroyed everything in the rest of the movieI did miss them cutting out all the geopolitical subtext and the post-final battle reveal that Ender is considered too dangerous to allow to return to Earth and he's essentially exiled from home, which prompts him to go on his alien rescue quest.

[mattmav45]

This is a somewhat hard film to gather my thoughts on, and I must say at the outset that I am not familiar with the source material in the slightest.

 

For me, there are two extremes at hand here.  On one hand, the source material is pretty fucking ridiculous.  I mean, they try to give random half-assed explanations throughout the film, but all of them serve to make things even more incomprehensible.  Let's face it, at its core this film is simply irrational as fuck.  If they had explained things more fully in the book, the same needed to be done here, plain and simple.

 

On the other hand, there are some fucking sick sci-fi visuals to be had here.  The visuals were good enough to make for an entertaining watch despite all the absurdity surrounding them.  I'd go so far to even say some of the visuals were even inspired in nature.

 

Since I have an innate disposition against films showcasing teenage and and post-pubescent angst and ego battles, I couldn't really get into the story.  Get inebriated and watch the visuals, plain and simple.

[Goffe]

Premise is bad, but the execution is even worse. To be fair, I have low tolerance for scrawny kids acting all tough and grown up. World-building is awful, not that it surprised me, most movies with utopian societies does a very poor job explaining how everything works. Also, the sense of scale is nonexistent, which especially affects the action scenes, everything so weightless. 30/100

 

Edited August 14, 2016 by Goffe

[RobinHood26]

Still bad, ill give it a C now maybe.

 

god that drill Sargent guy is so annoying and bad. Like every single movie he's in.