Stars Asa Butterfield, Harrison Ford, Hailee Stansfield, Abigail Breslin, Viola Davis, Aramis Knight, and Ben Kingsley Directed by Gavin Hood In a way, Gavin Hood manages to show just how good a director he is, delivering a solid movie that has heart and action, that is, after the unfortunate experience of X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Perhaps it’s simply because Hood has a better grasp on the material here, having adapted the screenplay himself. And it would seem that Hood has a good grasp on the material, taking a renowned science fiction novel and condensing it into a two hour movie. Not an easy task at any time. All those ideas and themes that need to be tackled; the elements that need to be included or left out; the changes that need to be made to accommodate the moving picture format. Perhaps the biggest change would be doubling the age of the protagonist and his companions. I’m not going to do a movie and book comparison, simply because I’ve never read the book itself, but I do know that one of the core elements of the story is that Ender Wiggin (Asa Butterfield) is truly a child within the original story. He’s supposed to be no older than a primary one school child, that’s 7 years of age. In the movie, the characters are in the mid to late teens. The main thrust of the story remains, and that is sending these children into war. It is also within a concept that is quite relevant today, not just child warriors, but the application of games and simulations as tools of training for war. I’m sure a lot of others would pick up on the use of drone warfare that is also quite prevalent within the movie; sitting safely behind a computer console and directing warfare miles away utilising machines and such. Not unlike playing video games. One of the key points of Ender’s personality is subtly laid out in several scenes. Despite being told that he has a penchant for war, force is really Ender’s last resort. His morality is in play, and also often very quickly dismissed by his trainers be it Colonel Graff (Harrison Ford) or his other teachers. After all, when it comes to war, the last thing the superior officers want in a soldier adept at waging war is a moral compass. The morality issue is played out in several conversations, but hardly practised, and we are left with the oft used excuse in any war scenario - the ends justify the means. What would that mean within the movie here is for you to discover for yourself. Much of the movie is focussed on Ender’s training as well as the training of his companions. Ender’s own internal struggle is in play, particularly evidenced by his two elder siblings, the impulsive and fairly violent older brother, Peter (Jimmy Pinchak), and the more moderate and serene sister, Valentine (Abigail Breslin). Which way will he ultimate grow? From a visual aspect, Hood manages to delivers some impressive set-ups throughout the movie, from a zero-G training arena to alien planets and the ultimate battle scenario towards the end of the movie (it’s already in the previews, I doubt I’m spoiling anything there). There are some issues with the overall effects work on show although it’s hardly a complaint. The effects work serve the story adequately. After all, its the characters that drive the story here. Most of the stars deliver very well with the younger stars keeping up with the veterans. My only singular complaint is why they couldn’t get a Kiwi actor for the character who has a Kiwi heritage? I’m sure someone like Temuera Morrison could have done it instead of having Ben Kingsley fiddle with the New Zealand accent. That was a little distracting. Overall, Ender’s Game is a true blue science fiction movie, extrapolating elements of today’s world and projecting it into the future while providing a commentary about it all. Even with the action set-pieces, this is very much a character piece.
2 Comments
.
11/10/2013 07:46:01 pm
looking for the part where you draw comparisons to The Last Starfighter which was released the year before this book was written.
Reply
-b
11/12/2013 11:32:45 am
Interesting, did not know that Ender's Game was released in the 80s. Thought it was released much earlier. I don't think I could have drawn any comparisons to The Last Starfighter - unless you're looking at the application of video games as training tools - as in terms of characters, they are quite different movies to me. And The Last Starfighter is a more fun movie for me.
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
Archives
December 2017
|