By Kyle Osborne
‘Ender’s Game’ comes to the multiplex with a built-in fan base of Sci-Fi readers who have devoured the original novel since its award winning year of release in 1985. That’s a lot of time and pressure, and one suspects that fans with that much of an emotional investment will tend to over-praise or be the most disappointed. This review is not for them. This review is for people looking for a decent flick to see on a Saturday night, and written from the perspective of one who’s never read the book and isn’t a big Sci-Fi fan.
So? It’s pretty good, actually.
The titular character is 12-year-old Ender Wiggin ( Asa Butterfield), a shrimpy in stature kid who is never far from being the target of bullies. He is surprisingly confident, considering how shy and nerdy he is. Ender and his cohorts are in a kind of military training school for future warriors, who will be called on to defend the world against an alien race that killed tens of millions of earthlings fifty years before the movie’s start.
Ender has a knack for strategic thinking, and watching him behind glass (literally and figuratively) are Colonel Hyrum Graff (Harrison Ford, reprising his now familiar schtick of “cranky old man”) and Viola Davis, a Major. They see that this kid with an unremarkable appearance has the perfect attributes for a military leader. Someone who is decisive, sure-footed, and pretty damn good at playing video games.
Initially, one fears that having a kid as the lead character will make Ender’s feel like, well, like a Kid Movie. Thankfully, Butterfield, though young, has enough gravitas to pull off the character. His “schoolmates” aren’t quite up to his level as actors, in the same way that their characters are less talented than Ender, but it’s only a mild distraction.
The film looks pretty cool—though watching the cadets “float” in zero gravity conditions pales in comparison to the movie ‘Gravity.” It’s almost like you can see the pressure points where the wires are attached the actors. Of course, one shouldn’t be too cynical to suspend disbelief, it’s just that in ‘Gravity,” one didn’t need to suspend.
Even for those of us who have never read the book series, there isn’t much that is surprising in the film. Ender becomes the Colonel’s pet, gets moved up the ladder very quickly, and is headed for a climactic battle that is the movie’s strongest moment, from a production standpoint.
It’s not the best film in theaters this weekend—not even top 3—but there was a lot that could have gone wrong, and director Gavin Hood has avoided many pitfalls, turning in a workmanlike effort. The effects, action and pacing are just fine.
I am so glad that I don’t have to tell you how well the film adapts the book, and I hate reading reviews that spend their time doing just that. As I said recently while reviewing “Carrie.” The question is not how well this film has adapted the book. The question is how good a movie is it. And the answer is good enough for 3 Out Of 4 Stars. Not good enough for the talents of Viola Davis. Too good for Harrison Ford, who needs to try something radically different for his next role.