Ender's Game (Post-release)

[MooCriket]

Well damn :/. Well, looks like it is a good call to go with tempering my expectations as I seemingly am having to do with so many flicks these days. It still seems to be doing pretty well on RT. It will be nice to see Ford on the big screen in a sci fi flick again. Every time I watch the trailers, I find myself thinking...He can still pull off Han Solo.

 

[JediG60racer]

Rushed. It was a whirlwind.

Halfway through, I realized I was sitting in a theatre full of people who had read and loved the books. They began heckling. It got louder and louder...

"THAT is NOT what happened in the book!"

It just about became a chant by the end of the movie with people joining in. I was okay with this.


Biggest plot hole problem for me: they very specifically showed the fleet being 28 days away from contact, and then Ender blogs that he was in weeks and months of training.

Um, okay? Relativity comes into play in the battle room, I guess?

 

[DARKSIDE72]

How was Avatar a mess? opcorn

Ya, I would compare it visually to seeing Avatar for the first time. But once you get over the fact that it looks pretty you're left with a hot mess. Oh well bring on Thor 2 and Hunger games lol

 

[.:MirrorminD:.]

How was Avatar a mess? opcorn

Don't get me wrong it's entertaining but the story was poorly written with tons of plot holes. Even the writers knew how bad the story was getting that's why they had to have Sam narrate pretty much the whole movie through video blogs. Not to mention the story has been used numerous times in the past from Disney movies to movies like The Last Samurai and for that matter Braveheart, Dances with wolves, etc...



But this is just my opinion

 

[DARKSIDE72]

BS....

Don't get me wrong it's entertaining but the story was poorly written with tons of plot holes. Even the writers knew how bad the story was getting that's why they had to have Sam narrate pretty much the whole movie through video blogs. Not to mention the story has been used numerous times in the past from Disney movies to movies like The Last Samurai and for that matter Braveheart, Dances with wolves, etc...



But this is just my opinion

 

[DARKSIDE72]

I liked the narration of Sam... the film wouldn't have worked without it.

 

[MooCriket]

Mirror, how long ago did you read the book? I read it ages ago, and have to say I really enjoyed the film. Yes, it was rushed, but it was visually satisfying. I disagree on Ender. I felt Asa did a great job. At times I almost felt like I was back in boot camp. Ford And Asa played off each other well. The theater I was in had no such chants about this or that not happening in the book, in fact they clapped at the end. I really hope we get a series of films from this.

A lot of the conflicts from the book were there. I know there was slicing and dicing of the story, but plot holes and all...a solid film, and it's nice to see that what Ford can do when given decent material to work with.

 

[Zuiun]

Saw it tonight.

Seeing as I was convinced that there was no way this would ever get made into a film without completely destroying "twist," I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. Especially given that one of the trailers seemed to indicate that the twist was revealed to the audience much earlier.

Overall, I enjoyed the movie, but...

I did feel it was rushed. It could have had another hour of running time and I'd have been fine sitting in the theater for that. Particularly if it gave us some more character development.

I was OK with the dropping of the Peter / Valentine subplot. That was never really my favorite part of the book anyway.

I'm definitely happy they kept the "giant game" in the story. I thought there was no way that would make it into the film, but it was an important part of the book.

My biggest complaint (other than it being rushed) is that they were too easy on Ender throughout. In the book, they really pushed him -- both the adults and the other kids -- and it seemed like everyone was too soft on him in the film. They glossed over his initial conflict with Bernard and his isolation and depression in Command School.

Despite the complaints, I did enjoy it and it was far better than I ever expected an adaptation of the book to be. Still, I can't help but wonder if we won't get a more fleshed out director's cut on bluray. I certainly hope so.

 

[JiminSTLouis]

Having not read the book, I really enjoyed this movie. It held my attention throughout and I found myself looking forward to what happens next. The zero-G work in the training exercises was very well done. My only complaint was the dying queen and her egg were only a short walk from their base, and they never found her the whole time they were on planet, but that could have also been in the book. I loved the ships and the rest of the hardware. An enjoyable start to the holiday movie season.

 

[MooCriket]

Going to check it out again tonight with another group of friends. Reviews are still solid, and I find it refreshing that a sic fi movie with heart and a good story (not a shoot em up) is doing well.

I must have talked with friends for a good hour and a half after watching this film last night.

 

[.:MirrorminD:.]

BS....

lol umad? Remember everyone has an opinion

I liked the narration of Sam... the film wouldn't have worked without it.

That was kind of my point, they needed the narration as the glue to hold the flimsy story together

Mirror, how long ago did you read the book? I read it ages ago, and have to say I really enjoyed the film. Yes, it was rushed, but it was visually satisfying. I disagree on Ender. I felt Asa did a great job. At times I almost felt like I was back in boot camp. Ford And Asa played off each other well. The theater I was in had no such chants about this or that not happening in the book, in fact they clapped at the end. I really hope we get a series of films from this.

A lot of the conflicts from the book were there. I know there was slicing and dicing of the story, but plot holes and all...a solid film, and it's nice to see that what Ford can do when given decent material to work with.

Don't get me wrong, like I said I thought it was entertaining and I'm sure if I didn't just re-read the book over the summer (which I know I shouldn't have) then I'm sure I would have liked it more. I still stand by my statement by the actor playing Ender. I just don't like that kid as an actor, I don't think he has enough acting chops to be in a lead roll.

 

[MooCriket]

@Mirror, yeah...I thought about reading the book again prior to going into this. I think if I would have, I would have been in the same camp about the overall execution of the film.

For anyone that is interested, Asa did an AMA on Reddit a while back. Seems to be a decent kid.
I am Asa Butterfield, star of films such as 'Hugo' and the upcoming film 'Enders Game'. Ask away! : IAmA

 

[Art Andrews]

Mirror, how long ago did you read the book? I read it ages ago, and have to say I really enjoyed the film. Yes, it was rushed, but it was visually satisfying.

I am with you MC! I read the book in my teens (now a good 20 years ago), so I don't remember every detail, only the main concepts and that I LOVED the book!

This is probably the best movie I have seen since Prometheus and Dredd. Even knowing what was coming, the movie was great. The kid who played Ender was fantastic. Harrison was amazing. The ONLY person who stood out as over the top and a bit ridiculous was the kid he put into a coma. I really don't have more to say except it was a great movie all the way around and did a great job of touching on all the social points raised in the book without getting overly preachy.

 

[mattrendar]

I liked the movie alot up until after the big reveal. I never read the book sorry. But to me the tactical genius that ender was. He would have cried and grieved over the reality of finding out the truth of the final battle and over the loss of human life. But would have understood the ends justified the means to save the human race and would have never tried to save the queen and the egg. The very end to me went against the theme. Great movie. Not many scifi movies make you think any more

 

[MooCriket]

^not really against the theme at all when you think about it. Ender realized he was lied to and manipulated. No one answered the question..."why so many years since the last attack?". Ender does not want to become his brother. He knows there must be a reason why they did not attack and why they were communicating with him. Also as Ender clearly said, it matters "how we won".

Even after a second viewing, considering what the Producer had to work with...I think he did a great job of condensing a novel which many including the author felt could never be made into a film.

 

[yt]

I just got back from seeing Ender's game on the Mega screen with my son. It was very well done and we both enjoyed it. My only critique is it could have been a little longer, they had to give us some cliff notes to condense it, other than that it great. Visually stunning and pretty true to the book.

 

[JD]

Just got back from Ender's Game. I think I've read the book (or parts of it), parts of the movie just seemed very familiar to me... but I couldn't recall specifics -prolly read it school and did a report and never thought much else of it - or something.

It was very rushed and the character development was so rushed over that it was non-existent - I never felt an compassion for any of the characters and never felt any connection or any real threat. Just seemed too generic sci-fi at times. I didn't think they really conveyed why they were using kids to command this fleet; there didn't seem to be a solid explanation or reasoning why they're giving kids command over a fleet as they did - for most of the film, I thought these kids were in a ROTC-type program and were going to be pilots or officers in their defense force, NOT big leader-types. There just didn't seem to be a rationale for this.

The film looked great. Some great effect work all around - except much of the zero-G stuff was obvious wire work.

The acting... I thought most of the kids were great, if Ender was supposed to come off as cold and unlikable, that kid did a great job... but, I just wanted him to be a bit more likable. Harrison Ford, at first it looked like he was just going through the motions... but, he still turned it on at times and still has it (when he wants to use it, I guess). I thought the Sgt. was a little too cartoon-y. Ben Kingsley was solid.

- - - Updated - - -

Just got back from Ender's Game. I think I've read the book (or parts of it), parts of the movie just seemed very familiar to me... but I couldn't recall specifics -prolly read it school and did a report and never thought much else of it - or something.

It was very rushed and the character development was so rushed over that it was non-existent - I never felt an compassion for any of the characters and never felt any connection or any real threat. Just seemed too generic sci-fi at times. I didn't think they really conveyed why they were using kids to command this fleet; there didn't seem to be a solid explanation or reasoning why they're giving kids command over a fleet as they did - for most of the film, I thought these kids were in a ROTC-type program and were going to be pilots or officers in their defense force, NOT big leader-types. There just didn't seem to be a rationale for this.

The film looked great. Some great effect work all around - except much of the zero-G stuff was obvious wire work.

The acting... I thought most of the kids were great, if Ender was supposed to come off as cold and unlikable, that kid did a great job... but, I just wanted him to be a bit more likable. Harrison Ford, at first it looked like he was just going through the motions... but, he still turned it on at times and still has it (when he wants to use it, I guess). I thought the Sgt. was a little too cartoon-y. Ben Kingsley was solid.

 

[SmilingOtter]

Saw it and thoroughly enjoyed it, while wishing they could have slowed the pace down a bit. All in all, my biggest gripe was their editing down Mazer's "I am your enemy" speech - my favorite part of the book. Still, what they left of it was still good.

 

[JediG60racer]

My buddy just saw it today and summed it up: "The movie was a 2 hour trailer for the book."

I think he nailed that.

 

[Onephattsi2]

We went yesterday and watched it. I will admit I have never read the book, and I did enjoy the movie. It was concise and to the point, not much in the way of non needed extras..

The "it doesn't follow the book" argument is getting old..... Anyone that goes to any movie expecting a visual adaptation of a written novel or comic anymore, is simply setting themselves up for disappointment. Just my opinion.