ENDER'S
GAME
   
STARRING: Asa Butterfield, Harrison
Ford, Abigail Breslin, Ben Kingsley, Viola Davis
2013, 114 Minutes, Directed by:
Gavin Hood
If
you need proof that many film critics don’t “get” science fiction, look no
further than the reviews for Ender’s
Game. Those reviews referring to its source novel as “YA Fiction” or
comparing the movie to a video game make it clear that they are not treating
Ender’s Game with the respect that they bring to most other films that they
review. Based on Orson Scott Card’s award-winning 1985 novel, Gavin Hood’s
adaptation is one of the best book-to-screen transitions of any work of science
fiction. It is a serious film worth taking seriously.
Andrew Ender Wiggins (Asa
Butterfield in a performance wise beyond his years) is recruited into a military
training program. What’s unusual is that Ender, as he is known, is a kid, and he
is being trained to fight a battle with the Formics, ant-like aliens who
attacked Earth a number of years ago and cost countless lives before being
pushed back. Earth’s military has been gearing up ever since for what they feel
is the inevitable next battle, and think that only children have the creativity
and flexibility to win the high-tech fight.
Colonel Graff (Harrison Ford)
is in charge of the training school and pushes his young charges to the breaking
point. His theory is that if Ender feels he can rely on no one but himself, he
will be motivated to win at all costs. Major Anderson (Viola Davis) disagrees
but is outranked. The story builds to Ender’s final test and the devastating
results that follow. Those who insist that the movie is no more than a big
screen video game will have missed the entire point of the film.
"A serious film worth taking seriously . . ." |
The bulk of the film has to do
with Ender’s training, and how he is always isolated and put down. Yet he shows
independence of thought, a genius for tactics and strategy, and natural
leadership ability. It’s precisely through the abusive training that Graff hopes
to make Ender fit for battle, even cutting him off from his family back on
Earth, including his sister Valentine (Abigail Breslin). When Graff tells Ender,
“I’m not the enemy,” Ender’s reply is, “I’m not so sure.”
Hood has compressed the details
of the story and used shorthand to get across points that are more developed in
the novel, but that is to be expected. He gives us what’s important, as in
Ender’s pivotal confrontation with the vicious squad leader Bonzo (Moises
Arias). Ender’s first approach is to negotiate a truce where they both can
“win,” but ultimately he has no choice but to meet violence with violence.
Visually the film is stunning,
and it actually makes good use of the IMAX screen. The performances are solid,
with the actors treating their roles with the seriousness they deserve. When Ben
Kingsley arrives late in the film as Mazer Rackham, the hero of the last war,
there is none of the cheesiness he brought to some of the lesser films he’s
walked through. He is all steely – and scary – resolve. Butterfield and Ford
carry the weight of the movie well, and if this wasn’t science fiction, there
would be Oscar buzz about their work here.
Word must be made about Orson
Scott Card, the author of the original novel (and previous short story). Yes,
Card is an anti-gay bigot. There’s just no getting around that. No, none of that
homophobia appears in the novel or the movie. And, no, Card was paid up front
for the movie rights so your buying a ticket does not put a dime into his
pocket. If you had any interest in seeing the film but hesitated because of
Card’s personal views, put that aside and see Ender’s Game on the big
screen while you can. It probably won’t be around very long.
While one is hard pressed to
call Ender’s Game the best science fiction movie of the year –
Gravity wins that hands down – it is a powerful
adaptation of a landmark novel and a stunning achievement for all concerned.
- Daniel
Kimmel
Daniel M. Kimmel is a
veteran movie critic and author of a host of film-related books. His first
novel, Shh! It’s a Secret: a novel about Aliens, Hollywood and the Bartender’s
Guide has just been released. He teaches film at Suffolk University and
lives in Somerville, Massachusetts.
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