Ender's Game (film): such a disappointing flop
The Ender books are really something else. I can honestly say that they rank right up there with my favorite books of all time. The original book, which this film is based on has traveled with me to 3 different countries and I have read it I dunno how many times. Obviously, i am a fan. So when i found out there were going to make a film complete with massive budget, I was elated.
The level of disappointment that i felt is likely a bit higher than your average person experienced because I had such incredibly fond memories of the novels and had this one been i dunno, A LOT BETTER than it was, we could have been looking at an epic trilogy and I would imagine that was the original intent. I don't know for sure, but much like when "Eragon" flopped at the box office (what a s**t show that movie was,) I wouldn't be very surprised if the remaining 2 movies have be shelved.
I generally don't appreciate child actors because I don't think there are very many good ones out there. Perhaps this sound means to say but for the most part child actors annoy me especially when they have some sort of military thing they are doing and there is no supervision from adults for the most part. Calling other kids "sir" and what not, it just seems dumb to me. I couldn't get on board with the Divergent series for this reason.
I was surprised to learn that Orson Scott Card (who is a phenomenal author) actually wrote the original screenplay himself. Six of them actually. However it is unclear as to why or how (legally speaking) that the screenplay that was eventually used, was not actually written by Card but instead by director Gavin Hood. I would imagine this angered Orson because he has been exceptionally protective of his work and has turned down many offers over the years to turn Ender into a film. Card said in an interview that the script was "100% Hood's."
I am quite certain I am being overly harsh on this film seeing as how I am so attached to the wonderful book it is based on but even if you haven't read the book, i have a hard time believing very many people could see this film and think it was anything other than average.
I have no problem with movies based on books if they are done well.
For me, doing them badly involves quoting a couple of pages near verbatim then tearing out and ignoring the next twenty. In my view, this is what has been done in adapting Ender's Game, the remnants have been stacked together as a bunch of sound-bites and run at fast forward speed, leaving no time for character progression and the growth of friendships that is the mainstay to the original story.
It may be that, like Philip Pullman's Dark Materials Trilogy, this was an unmakeable film so we should perhaps thank them for their brave effort that didn't quite make it.
In failing, the film is a testament to the writing of Card that he could cram so much story into just 350 paperback pages that it couldn't been captured in 2 hours on the screen.
And finally, Ben Kingsley's performance, what a shocker! Think we'll see more of Asa Butterfield though.
Its always almost the same feeling of incompleteness when books are made into movies, take a look at harry potter, having read the book, over and over, i can say the movie tried, but didnt do justice in expressing how the book really was, same goes for divergent, dang that was the worst, total disappointment, even lord of the rings, though the movie tried, really tried, the book was still far more expressive. I have not yet found a movie made oout of a book that gives 90%. Have you?
that's a very good question and i come up with a blank right now. I'll give this some thought and come back to you :)
I like Sci-Fi movies. I like the explosions, action, vehicles, environments etc. I get really hyped up when I see a good trailer for a movie especially with good veteran actors. In this case Harrison Ford and Ben Kingsley. The trailer for Ender's Game had all the elements I like. And a kid in middle of all, seemed like a good concept. I am also not a good reader. I wait for Hollywood to make good movies from books so I don't have to read them. I did that with Harry Potter, currently doing with Hunger Games. So I had no idea what the story was going to be, neither the trailer gave much.
So, why did I gave this movie 3 rating only? Because, When I went to see this movie blank headed and found out that the movie is just an extension of the trailer. There is no extra explosion, action, etc. Nothing extra that could excite me. The movie turned out to be like one of M. Night Shyamalan, trying to have a big twist in the end. That could have worked also but the climax was also expected. every body in the hall had guessed it, and joking about the poor boy.
you write really good follow-ups to a lot of my stuff. I am following you now :)
I understand your sentiments, the truth is apart from Harry porter or maybe Spy kid or even Karate kid I can't say I've seen exceptional children actors really it's very rare, and for such a story based on an amazing book they could have known that they needed veteran actors to tell the story very well, because if you ask me, I think they got some things right. And that children actor made the filmca bit mundane.
However because i seem to like the concept even if I don't know the book it was based on, I'd give the film a 6/10 rating.
Coming from the writer/film producer angle of things, I can say that the days of films butchering the original material are numbered. Between the streaming services - and frankly, this here blockchain nonsense is gonna change a lot of that - and other distribution platforms there will be more opportunities for quality productions and richer storytelling.
Like so many of the sci-fi/fantasy work out there, they had no business cramming this into a 120 minute film. This is a limited series, easily.
I enjoyed the books immensely, but I've got my own book series, etc. that I'm protective over and it's my hope that with these new opportunities for expansive storytelling will protect their integrity.
Wow I actually loved this movie because it had most things from the book, when I read it I sweared somethings wouldn't make it to the movie but they were there.
well buddy we are all entitled to our opines. Just because I say something doens't mean i am right. I am happy you liked it (for serious) and thanks for commenting!
Indeed, you've been picking a bunch of really good movies to review hope to see more of it.
I could not recommend this movie to anyone.
Usually I feel very strongly about not giving movies minimum marks since every movie usually has something to redeem other areas that are lackluster however this movie has none.
The plot is disjointed, the casting is poor, the messages are tackily plastered on and the concept is poorly thought out.
Every second of this movie you will have the urge to skip ahead in hopes that the CGI space fights will redeem it. When you finally reach them their flawed execution will only aggravate you further.
If there was the option to give a zero this movie truly would deserve it. In fact this movie warrants the adaptation of the rating system so that zero is a score you can give.
If you haven't read the book they did an excellent job with the special effects and graphics. Things very much reflect the current American viewpoint on military behavior and the representative mix of races and gender at the battle school.
If you like the book, the mutation of fundamental points of the story makes this movie a complete waste of time. It has been warped into basically an action movie with only a shell of meaning. After loving the book for so many years I found myself repeatedly saying outloud, "WTF!".
!Spoilers! I have no idea why they moved the entire formic invasion into the atmosphere instead of leaving it spread throughout the solar system. I have no idea why Dap got changed into a drill sergeant instead of being a substitute mother figure. I have no idea why they wussied out on Bonzo's death scene. I have no idea why Bernard lost his french accent and his broken arm and became a supporter of Ender. I have no idea why they allowed Ender to contact Valentine while in school. I have no idea why they erased the colonization movement after the war and had Ender find the cocoon in walking distance of the military base. I have no idea why a key part of general training in the book, the mind game, became something specifically authorized for Ender instead of everyone. I don't know why in the giant's drink game they made all the drinks look the same instead of having the variety described in the book. At least they didn't have Ender getting romantic.
I have very low expectations, but "Enders Game" surprised even me with its very low production value, lack of ambition, and cheesy wooden dialogue.
I've seen reviews which give this movie nominal points based on the special effects and set designs. But to be honest, even those are very lackluster.
This appears to be a cut rate shoot-em-up which calls itself Ender's Game as a gimmick. Another gimmick was the casting of Harrison Ford, who brings nothing to his role as senior military commander.
There is no musical theme, just the ubiquitous constant thumping which is all too common nowadays, and presumably cheaper to produce.
I didn't see any blatant product placement, but I wasn't looking out for it. That's probably the most surprising thing about this movie.
Bad film, even for what passes as movies nowadays.
It is rare that Films based on novels justify them, as much of the time the essence of the story gets lost. That one was an honest review for sure, moreover I wanted to ask about the result declaration the contest held by you?
the results were already posted buddy! did you not see them?