Science fiction writer Orson Scott Card has made
it difficult to objectively review the film adaptation of his most popular novel,
despite the fact that as a fan of the source material I have wanted to see this
story on the big screen ever since I was a teenager. However, I would be lying
if I said that Card’s vocal homophobia and public prejudices hasn’t somewhat
soured my memory of “Enders Game”. But
even with my personal morals and sensitivities in the contextual air, I tried
to walk into this film with an open mind. And with that loaded caveat aside, I
am happy to say that this is an absolutely enjoyable science fiction adventure,
in spite of the narrow mind who conceived it.
Many of
the details from this book have since left my memory, so luckily I was not
burdened with the fanboy comparison complex—perhaps aiding in my overall
enjoyment of this movie. What I can say is that it certainly captures the
idealistic spirit and the innocent curiosity of the novel, vividly recreating
the key moments of the drama that I remembered from the text.
In the
distant future, after the earth’s population is greatly depleted by a brutal
alien invasion, humanity’s finest military gears up for a second wave of
attack, sending forces of jarhead teenagers to the enemy planet before they can
strike again. Ender Wiggins (Asa
Butterfeild), a scarily intelligent, pre-teen loner, is drafted in to study and
train at an out-of-orbit military academy, where he is told by his commanding
officers (Harrison Ford and Viola Davis) that he will eventually lead the other
children in earth’s victor.
“Enders
Game” has the advantage of coming out after a wave of successful adaptations of
young-adult fiction. With “Harry Potter” and “Twilight” still in our rear view,
and “Hunger Games” working hard to fill
the void, this classy, unassuming heroes’
tale successfully projects its narrative ambitions onto the tried and tested
formulas that precede it without it feeling like a rip-off or an
off-brand. Yes it’s another ‘chosen-one’
myth, and yes it involves a silly looking, made-up sport with complicated
rules, but director Gavin Hood knows exactly how to pitch its tone and, more
crucially, he and his writers understand that just because they’re making a
film for a younger audience it doesn’t mean that kids aren’t smart or patient
enough to understand complex characters or sophisticated themes.
Asa
Butterfeild, the young lead who viewers might remember from Martin Scorsese’s
“Hugo”, has a lot working against him as an actor. Given that his character
could be read as a noble know-it-all or a dull cypher, both the script and his
sensitive performance allows the character to have enough inner conflict and
personality to let Ender to breath and change within the story. The side
performances by the other children—Hailey Steinfeld as Petra and Aramis Knight
as Bean—lacks the same amount of depth or definition, but their role within the
plot functions efficiently and without distraction nonetheless.
One
could complain that as an effects-driven film not every green-screen or CGI moment
is well camouflaged or invisibly integrated. Yet, because of the consistent art
direction and the deliberate, symmetrical cinematography the special effects
never feel out of place or showy for their own sake. With that said, there is certainly enough wow
and wonder in the visual execution to keep both the kids and their parents anxiously
chewing on their pop-corn.
“Enders
Game” may not be a perfect film, but it’s about as perfect of an adaptation of its
novel as we could have hoped for. And
what’s more, it actually tells a story about something Mr. Card has seemed to
have forgotten; sympathy, tolerance, and dangers of demonizing ‘the other’.
Grade: B+
Grade: B+
Originally published in the Idaho State Journal/Nov-2013
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