Ender’s Game Review
When I read Orson Scott Card’s book Ender’s Game in high school, I was immediately hooked. The fact that I’ve read the science fiction novel a few times since then is a testament to its power over me, because I don’t re-read books very often. I love the story because it truly speaks to the isolation all children experience as they struggle to fit in, not just brilliant ones like Card’s protagonist Andrew “Ender” Wiggin. And even though most of his characters are young, Card surprises you by never treating them like children. His characters have complicated thoughts and emotions that on par with adults, which makes them relatable to people of all ages.
I had been waiting a while for a film version of Ender’s Game, but as a huge fan the book, I was initially very skeptical as to how filmmakers could take Card’s elaborate science fiction story and adapt it into anything remotely watchable. Card’s novel is a complex tale not only from a character perspective, but from a technological one as well, since it involves lots of zero gravity scenes. Did the filmmakers manage to adapt the novel effectively? Watch my eight second review below to find out.
Written and Directed by: Gavin Hood
Based on a Novel By: Orson Scott Card
Starring: Asa Butterfield, Harrison Ford, Ben Kingsley, Viola Davis, Hailee Steinfeld, Abigail Breslin
Summary: Seventy years after an alien race called the Formics failed in their invasion of the planet, Earth’s people are still reeling. They plan to strike back against the technologically superior Formics before the aliens have a another chance to annihilate humankind. The world’s fate in this battle rests in the hands of a brilliant boy named Ender Wiggin, who must leave his beloved sister and bullying brother for a special military school orbiting the Earth. At the battle school, Ender will be challenged and honed into a military mastermind. But can he survive the rigorous process and prepare himself in time for the epic showdown?
View Comments (2)
I'm surprised that a "bland lead" coupled with a "dumb ending" gets such a high rating.. It warrants a a C- in my book. Nice, concise review.
Thanks Mark. For me, it got the high rating overall because I felt it effectively adapted the book for the big screen. It kept my attention and used the most important parts of the novel's narrative, despite the bland leading man and the ending where it deviated too much from the source material.