Ender's Game
Directed by: Gavin Hood
Written by: Gavin Hood, based on the book by Orson Scott Card
Starring: Asa Butterfield, Harrison Ford, Hailee Steinfeld, Abigail Breslin, Ben Kingsley, Viola Davis, Aramis Knight, Suraj Partha, Moises Arias, Khylin Rhambo, Jimmy 'Jax' Pinchak, Nonso Anozie, Conor Carroll
Action/Adventure/Sci-Fi - 114 min
Written by: Gavin Hood, based on the book by Orson Scott Card
Starring: Asa Butterfield, Harrison Ford, Hailee Steinfeld, Abigail Breslin, Ben Kingsley, Viola Davis, Aramis Knight, Suraj Partha, Moises Arias, Khylin Rhambo, Jimmy 'Jax' Pinchak, Nonso Anozie, Conor Carroll
Action/Adventure/Sci-Fi - 114 min
Ender’s Game argues the perfect battlefield commander is half empathy and half stomach to finish the fight so there will be no more fighting. The 1985 young adult book by Orson Scott Card is a classic finding new fans with each generation. The leadership discussions, the battle school strategy, and the idea that squeaky-voiced pre-teens will lead Earth in its final battle makes for nail-biting reading. Now, the film adaptation goes to work on it.
Nominative determinism means you are what your name implies. My surname surmises I am a jeweler, my wife’s maiden name hints she has a background in the wine industry. Ender Wiggin (Asa Butterfield) bears a name suggesting he is meant for serial killing or genocide. Forever smaller and weaker than his competitors in the International Fleet’s cadet corps, Ender relies on his superior wit and brilliant strategic analysis to defeat his physically superior foes. Ender does not instigate fights; however, he will damn sure finish them.
Singled out by the Fleet’s chief of training, Colonel Graff (Harrison Ford), Ender is fast-tracked through school and matched against a steep curve of increasingly difficult obstacles. He must overcome a psychopathic older brother, battle school mind games, a jealous peer commander, and the always present ‘other’ is never far from his mind. The reason for the battle school and the search for unshakeable commanders are because of the Formics. These ‘bugs’ attacked Earth 50 years ago and slaughtered tens of millions. Whoever emerges as the superior commander will lead Earth’s counter-attack.
Ender’s Game peaks during battle school scenes of strategy in zero gravity, observations on leadership, and the back and forth debate between Colonel Graff and Major Gwen Anderson (Viola Davis) concerning Ender’s mental health. Major Anderson is the warning light to Graf’s all-ahead thrusters. Where Graf sees officers and commanders, Anderson sees children. Their conversations about Ender’s capabilities and limitations are a noticeable highlight.
On the other hand, scenes concerning Ender’s inner psyche, a mysterious online Mind Game, and a fuzzy background are not necessarily setbacks to the film, but they add nothing to it. By fuzzy background, I refer to the lack of explanation on what it means when Ender refers to himself as a ‘third child’, the lack of definition of his close friends who might as well just blend together as one, and the all too brief discussion about the ultimate consequences of the film’s climax.
Peter Jackson split The Hobbit, a relatively short book, into three films. I am not advocating this become the norm, but Ender’s Game adds so much to the stew that you end up losing most of the taste. We are rushed quickly through opening family scenes, skim the surface of Ender’s leadership development, and blaze right through a stuttering end to set us up for a sequel. I recognize I arrive to the film having read the Ender series, but I suspect the film would still feel as if there are too many chefs in the kitchen had I arrived with zero foreknowledge.
Director Gavin Hood first made a name for himself with 2005’s Tsotsi, a film that has nothing in common with Ender’s Game save for a leading character trying to find his way in a complicated world. He adeptly makes us see Ender as both a little boy and a determined leader of others. Here is a boy wise enough to see his enemy so clearly, he would seek to understand them than attack them. Yet, here is a boy still homesick for his mommy and sister. Go see Ender’s Game to revisit a classic you probably remember from years ago but do not expect to walk away floored.
Nominative determinism means you are what your name implies. My surname surmises I am a jeweler, my wife’s maiden name hints she has a background in the wine industry. Ender Wiggin (Asa Butterfield) bears a name suggesting he is meant for serial killing or genocide. Forever smaller and weaker than his competitors in the International Fleet’s cadet corps, Ender relies on his superior wit and brilliant strategic analysis to defeat his physically superior foes. Ender does not instigate fights; however, he will damn sure finish them.
Singled out by the Fleet’s chief of training, Colonel Graff (Harrison Ford), Ender is fast-tracked through school and matched against a steep curve of increasingly difficult obstacles. He must overcome a psychopathic older brother, battle school mind games, a jealous peer commander, and the always present ‘other’ is never far from his mind. The reason for the battle school and the search for unshakeable commanders are because of the Formics. These ‘bugs’ attacked Earth 50 years ago and slaughtered tens of millions. Whoever emerges as the superior commander will lead Earth’s counter-attack.
Ender’s Game peaks during battle school scenes of strategy in zero gravity, observations on leadership, and the back and forth debate between Colonel Graff and Major Gwen Anderson (Viola Davis) concerning Ender’s mental health. Major Anderson is the warning light to Graf’s all-ahead thrusters. Where Graf sees officers and commanders, Anderson sees children. Their conversations about Ender’s capabilities and limitations are a noticeable highlight.
On the other hand, scenes concerning Ender’s inner psyche, a mysterious online Mind Game, and a fuzzy background are not necessarily setbacks to the film, but they add nothing to it. By fuzzy background, I refer to the lack of explanation on what it means when Ender refers to himself as a ‘third child’, the lack of definition of his close friends who might as well just blend together as one, and the all too brief discussion about the ultimate consequences of the film’s climax.
Peter Jackson split The Hobbit, a relatively short book, into three films. I am not advocating this become the norm, but Ender’s Game adds so much to the stew that you end up losing most of the taste. We are rushed quickly through opening family scenes, skim the surface of Ender’s leadership development, and blaze right through a stuttering end to set us up for a sequel. I recognize I arrive to the film having read the Ender series, but I suspect the film would still feel as if there are too many chefs in the kitchen had I arrived with zero foreknowledge.
Director Gavin Hood first made a name for himself with 2005’s Tsotsi, a film that has nothing in common with Ender’s Game save for a leading character trying to find his way in a complicated world. He adeptly makes us see Ender as both a little boy and a determined leader of others. Here is a boy wise enough to see his enemy so clearly, he would seek to understand them than attack them. Yet, here is a boy still homesick for his mommy and sister. Go see Ender’s Game to revisit a classic you probably remember from years ago but do not expect to walk away floored.
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