Ender’s Game – Film Review
Director: Gavin Hood
Starring: Harrison Ford, Asa Butterfield, Hailee Steinfeld, Abigail Breslin, Moises Arias and Ben Kingsley
Release Date: Oct 25
70 years after Earth has survived a devastating invasion, Ender Wiggin (Asa Butterfield), a young prodigy in strategy and battle, is recruited by an advanced military school, designed in preparation for an inevitable invasion in Ender’s Game. Under the supervision of Lieutenant Graff (Harrison Ford), Ender rises the ranks impressively while struggling with the school’s apparent philosophy that killing is the best means of survival. Written and directed by Gavin Hood, Ender’s Game is based on the first in a series of young adult science fiction novels by Orson Scott Card.
I was very excited to be attending a screening of this film as there were a lot of things in the air. It was only earlier this year that I had read the original book and had become something of a fan, so of course I was curious to see how a film adaptation would fair, but even then there were two other factors on my mind and I believe the minds of others.
First of all, this is director Gavin Hood’s first outing with a big budget film since X-Men Origins: Wolverine, which in my opinion was a horrifically dreadful movie. But really what has drawn more controversy is the fact that the film, as mentioned, is based on a book by Orson Scott Card who is also credited as a producer on the film. Due to Orson Scott Card’s open opposition to same-sex relationships and marriage, many have been led to protest the film’s possible agenda with LGBT groups proposing a boycott of the film’s release.
On this subject the other producers have stated that the author’s involvement in production were minimal and Lionsgate Entertainment has also expressed that they as a company, do not reflect his opinions on the matter and that they have been “proud longtime supporters of the LGBT community”. While I accept that it’s ultimately the choice of the audience members whether or not to go, I feel that having seen Ender’s Game, I can vouch for the statements that the film, like the book, does NOT hold any agenda or relevance in the debate over the subject of homosexuality and that Orson Scott Card’s views, while in my opinion are unfortunate and misguided, are completely separate to both the book and film.
Now, with that out of the way, let’s get to reviewing this thing!
On originally reading Ender’s Game I felt that the book could be adapted and somewhat reworked into a sophisticated and classic kind of science fiction film. The kind that celebrates great detail and warrants several repeated viewings. This may have been mere wishful thinking on my part and instead of this, what we have in Ender’s Game as a film is very much a “based on the young adults novel” kind of movie, if that makes sense.
The film is rigid, straightforward and not really ambiguous or complex with any kind of subtext or subtlety. It’s similar to say, the early Harry Potter films and really the film it most reminded me of was The Hunger Games. Although I do have to admit I haven’t read any of those books, but I did enjoy the first film. Like The Hunger Games, the film is designed to be commercially viable for the modern young adult audience, with concise and somewhat pulpy narrative.
So with this direction taken in adapting Ender’s Game does it work? In my opinion, I think it’s a success. The film is clear and well paced and I think it will read well for its intended audience while also being perfectly entertaining and interesting to older viewers or anyone uninitiated with the original material. It’s hard to tell but I think fans of the book won’t be disappointed either.
Asa Butterfield comes through with the tough job of portraying Ender Wiggin’s intensely logical but ultimately compassionate personality. Although he’s wooden in parts, I believe that’s more due to the direction of the film rather than his own personal abilities and having seen him in this and Hugo I believe he’s a sharp young talent worth keeping an eye on in the future. Harrison Ford is excellent (but of course he’s excellent, he’s Harrison Ford). The surrounding young cast that portray Ender’s military school peers are perhaps underused but still carry the film very well and much the same can be said about the rest of the actors overall.
Two noteworthy performances for me were Abigail Breslin as Valentine, Ender’s older sister, although her presence felt rather lacking through the film, and more specifically Moises Arias as Bonzo, an antagonistic and aggressive fellow student of Ender’s. Arias has also appeared in this year’s The Kings of Summer which I haven’t even seen but his performance in the trailer alone stood out for me, and that and his portrayal of Bonzo have left me convinced that he, like Butterfield, is a talent to keep an eye on in the future.
The special effects may not be revolutionary but they’re certainly impressive and more importantly, they serve their purpose perfectly. There are a few narrative issues in Ender’s Game, the severity of which, it may be hard for me to determine. The film manages to get a lot of information across and while some information is a bit spelled out, I don’t think this is a film that insults its audience’s intelligence as it assumes that viewers can keep up, rather than some films that patronise their audiences. Some more subtlety would have been greatly appreciated but I didn’t feel frustrated with everyone clear and upfront.
The harder thing for me to tell is if certain plot points are explained enough to make sense, without warranting a second or third check. You never want to have to ask a friend sitting next to you what exactly happened, or what exactly is happening. Having read the book it is hard for me to tell but I really don’t think anything is too confusing and any part that may be unclear might actually provide some nice thought provoking ambiguity in the story, albeit incidental. Either way I think all the important stuff is all in there and there’s nothing that’s necessarily missing, even if it is a bit vague.
In the end, I have to say that I enjoyed Ender’s Game thoroughly. While I haven’t forgotten about the catastrophe that was X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Gavin Hood has definitely done a really good job in making a worthy adaptation of the original book, that is well paced, intriguing and ultimately a satisfying watch. The film is laden with impressive special effects that oddly look a whole lot better than X-Men Origins: Wolverine, despite the film having a slightly smaller budget, and the whole film embodies a sort of simply paletted aesthetic that will appeal to younger audiences, while not holding back on the story’s bleak tones and heavy turning points.
It remains to be seen if it can surpass its controversy but I personally think Ender’s Game could prove to be a thought provoking and entertaining hit for young audiences and science fiction fans alike.
Score: 4/5
Written by Seamus Hanly
