I can't even begin to think of how difficult it is to take 30 year old book with overlapping and complex themes, which every person that read it has a different part with which they attach themselves to, and try to condense it into a two hour movie. As with all novel adaptations, there were things left out, liberties taken (like having Bean being one of the Launchies from the start of the movie) and tone that is different from how I interpreted it.
All that said, "Ender's Game" is an enjoyable movie. Five likes:
1. Watching with Ethan and Aidan. I know this doesn't have anything to do with the movie specifically, but I loved how excited they were. How they looked forward to seeing the differences, seeing their imaginations come to life, and being able to discuss their thoughts intelligently.
2. The Battle Room. In the book there were multiple battle rooms which could be switched in and out. This gave the impression to me that they were long a cylindrical, but on the smaller side. In the movie there is only one battle room and it is massive. An exterior shot of the Battle School, it is the most impressive and imposingly noticeable part of the structure.
3. Zero gravity. In some movies it sometimes feels like you can see the hooks and wires, or tell where the CGI begins and ends, but this was not the case. The zero gravity scenes look beautiful with individuals reacting as one would think they would in the absence of gravity.
4. Sir Ben Kingsley. While subtle, and borderline soft spoken, it feels like he "gets" the character. While this shouldn't be at all surprising with such a well accomplished actor, he brought in the cerebral and psychological aspect to the story that needed to bridge the gap from the more physical parts of the film.
5. The Simulator. The climactic scene has explosions, ships going every direction, and one person in the middle of it all directing his squad leaders like conductor of an orchestra. The visuals were impressive, they were changing camera angles to keep you close to the action but not overwhelmingly so. With the final gut punch coming at the end, the tension leading up to that moment peaked and hits you in the face when the "simulator" comes back on.
There were also some dislikes. Five of those:
1. Bonzo being shorter than Ender. I don't remember this being the case in the book, but it kinda felt like a big deal that I should have remembered.
2. The Petra/Ender love interest angle. First, they're kids. Second, they're training to be killers.
3. The downplaying of everything that's happening on Earth with the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact and Russia's (could have been changed to China or North Korea to be more current) forces moving against the west.
4. Needed more time with the desk. The game on the desk was such an important part of the psychological aspect of the book, I feel like they missed an opportunity with the movie.
5. No "Speaker for the Dead". The most heart-wrenching part of the book was nowhere to be seen. The only mention came from Rackham of all places when talking about his tattoos.
Bonus dislike: The previews. Awful. I was embarrassed having sat through them. I can't imaging paying money to see any of them. (Except "Mr. Peabody and Sherman". I would gladly pay to relive my childhood through those crazy Rocky and Bulwinkle characters.)
Overall "Ender's Game" was an enjoyable Sci-Fi movie that had enough similarities to the book to be considered the realm of accurate interpretation.
Next up: "Treasure Island"
All that said, "Ender's Game" is an enjoyable movie. Five likes:
1. Watching with Ethan and Aidan. I know this doesn't have anything to do with the movie specifically, but I loved how excited they were. How they looked forward to seeing the differences, seeing their imaginations come to life, and being able to discuss their thoughts intelligently.
2. The Battle Room. In the book there were multiple battle rooms which could be switched in and out. This gave the impression to me that they were long a cylindrical, but on the smaller side. In the movie there is only one battle room and it is massive. An exterior shot of the Battle School, it is the most impressive and imposingly noticeable part of the structure.
3. Zero gravity. In some movies it sometimes feels like you can see the hooks and wires, or tell where the CGI begins and ends, but this was not the case. The zero gravity scenes look beautiful with individuals reacting as one would think they would in the absence of gravity.
4. Sir Ben Kingsley. While subtle, and borderline soft spoken, it feels like he "gets" the character. While this shouldn't be at all surprising with such a well accomplished actor, he brought in the cerebral and psychological aspect to the story that needed to bridge the gap from the more physical parts of the film.
5. The Simulator. The climactic scene has explosions, ships going every direction, and one person in the middle of it all directing his squad leaders like conductor of an orchestra. The visuals were impressive, they were changing camera angles to keep you close to the action but not overwhelmingly so. With the final gut punch coming at the end, the tension leading up to that moment peaked and hits you in the face when the "simulator" comes back on.
There were also some dislikes. Five of those:
1. Bonzo being shorter than Ender. I don't remember this being the case in the book, but it kinda felt like a big deal that I should have remembered.
2. The Petra/Ender love interest angle. First, they're kids. Second, they're training to be killers.
3. The downplaying of everything that's happening on Earth with the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact and Russia's (could have been changed to China or North Korea to be more current) forces moving against the west.
4. Needed more time with the desk. The game on the desk was such an important part of the psychological aspect of the book, I feel like they missed an opportunity with the movie.
5. No "Speaker for the Dead". The most heart-wrenching part of the book was nowhere to be seen. The only mention came from Rackham of all places when talking about his tattoos.
Bonus dislike: The previews. Awful. I was embarrassed having sat through them. I can't imaging paying money to see any of them. (Except "Mr. Peabody and Sherman". I would gladly pay to relive my childhood through those crazy Rocky and Bulwinkle characters.)
Overall "Ender's Game" was an enjoyable Sci-Fi movie that had enough similarities to the book to be considered the realm of accurate interpretation.
Next up: "Treasure Island"
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