Author Topic: Ender's Game  (Read 1357 times)

¡Keith!

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Ender's Game
« on: October 31, 2013, 09:05:06 AM »
So... this is what it looks like when you film the Cliff's Notes!

Also, Gavin Hood should really have consulted Cuaron... or wikipedia, on how a zero-G environment should look.

Bondo

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Re: Ender's Game
« Reply #1 on: November 01, 2013, 01:10:02 AM »
Ender's Game (2013)

It is pretty easy to pick on a film based on a book because it is always going to leave parts behind. When reading Ender's Game earlier this year in preparation for the film (and I'm glad that I did), I was slightly bothered by Ender's succumbing to "emo Harry" syndrome (referring to Order of the Phoenix). You are stuck in Ender's head as he has all kinds of self-pitying emotions and it can get a bit frustrating. That being hard to translate to the screen, it is the main thing to get the chop and now I find I miss it quite a bit.

For its extreme lack of depth relative to the book, Ender's Game is a reasonable film. It is well produced and most of it looks shiny and properly futuristic. It may race through the story, but I found both the opening and the ending in tandem packed much of the important emotional and moral heft of the book. In this case, the film should probably be considered a success. Certainly compared to a lot of the summer blockbusters it feels like it has more life in it. It is pacey at just under two hours and to the degree I'd pick any moments to cut, it is because too much of the context has already been ditched to make them really effective.

I'd like a film that includes the interpersonal nuances of the book. I would appreciate a bit more build up of Ender's genius, the way the book makes you appreciate his responses to the varying and complex obstacles, rather than just playing out as one big Ender ex machina that we take on faith. I might want a film that properly builds up the emotional bond between Ender (Asa Butterfield) and his sister Valentine (Abigail Breslin) and her efforts with their other brother to dominate political debates at home. I might want Petra (Hailee Steinfeld) to not be forced excessively into a love interest, but all except this last are things that cannot really all be accomplished within the context of a single film. I'm sure there was a better film to be made from the source than this but there are way more worse films that could have been made. The book remains essential and the film merely illustration, but as that it is satisfying.

3.5/5

Melvil

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Re: Ender's Game
« Reply #2 on: November 01, 2013, 11:57:06 PM »
The book remains essential and the film merely illustration, but as that it is satisfying.

Terrific way to summarize. I was fairly convinced that this was going to be awful, and I'm happy to report I was wrong. Neither is it a great movie (certainly not a standalone one), but it gets a lot more right (or is doing its best to) than I expected.

The biggest problem is the classic adaptation characteristic of feeling both overstuffed and as if they're skimming the surface of far too many things. I'm okay with adaptations changing plot to make it translate better into the new medium, and they did a decently clever job streamlining certain things, but even still there is just no time to breathe or reach for depth because they always have to be onto the next thing. Worse yet, the voice-over exposition crutch robs even the transitional moments of any respite.

As a fan of the book it's easy for me to fill in all of the missing pieces and I already have an emotional connection to the characters to work off of, but I was still aware that a lot of the moments just rang false because they were not given the time or context to feel organic or earned. Short of a 4 hour movie (or a miniseries treatment) that's a hard problem to solve, but it's a pretty big problem to leave unsolved.

Beyond the bigger problems I could nitpick it to death, and some problems bother me more than others, while there's a thousand other issues that would start with "In the book...", but for the most part I understand why those decisions were made. But rather than itemize those issues (well, I might do that too. :) ), let's talk about some of the good things.

I really liked the cast a lot more than I expected. Ford and Davis really made those characters work, and the kids all filled their roles pretty well. The age issue didn't bother me too much, and Asa Butterfield made a pretty great Ender. A lot of moments were heavy handed (again, likely due to lack of time), but they knew what moments were important to hit and that frequently gave way to the best scenes. And while subtlety is not the first word that comes to mind because of the structural problems, within individual moments they actually managed some nuanced details that I greatly appreciated.

The emotional complexity of the story suffered for the previously mentioned reasons, but it still exists in this version, and at times quite effectively. Similarly, they also didn't completely neglect the fun sense-of-discovery and friendship building elements that makes it such a bittersweet story. These are definitely areas where prior-knowledge is helpful, but from that perspective it facilitated an experience where I got to revisit one of my favorite stories and really enjoy it, rather than just being frustrated at how much they dropped the ball.

 

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