Ender's Game Review

I wonder if Ender's Game is what George Melies imagined science fiction cinema would become one day in the future. Hugo's George Melies Sir Ben Kinglsey reunites with Hugo himself Asa Butterfield in this frequently spectacular voyage into space that sees a young boy trained for command in a war against a deadly alien race.

It is light years ahead of Melies stop/start special effects and contains contemporary relevance that has clearly not been lost even though the book it is adapted from is nearly 30 years old. After Earth is attacked by a huge swarm of aliens, the population of the planet is decimated then swiftly saved by the sacrifice of one great warrior. Humans, including Harrison Ford's gruff Colonel Graff, are not about to let another massacre occur again should the 'evil' alien race return and so for some dubious and far too quickly explained reason, have decided to train children into warriors to tackle the threat.

It seems an implausible set up and the future Earth is brusquely brushed over in order to get the action into space. Ender Wiggin (Butterfield) is a bullied kid who beats the crap out of another kid to ensure the bully never picks on him again. That's all it takes for Harrison Ford to think Ender is the next John Connor, great military leader and saviour of the planet. So off to space they go for a film about training kids in future space warfare and zero gravity shoot outs.

Ender quickly rises in the ranks and becomes a commander of the other kids in their space training facility. He forms some bonds, particularly with Hailee Steinfeld's Petra and also makes a few enemies. All the while Harrison Ford and Viola Davis (as some kind of psychologist) battle for Ender's soul, Ford wanting him to become a heartless killer and Davis concerned that Ender will be pushed too far.

The training scenes zip along but amount to little and it is never really clear why Ender is the chosen one. What makes Ender's Game a must see for gung-ho let's go to war and nuke the bastards types is the bleak message it pounces on the audience at the end. The politics of heroics are replaced by sacrifice, shame and genocide as Ender learns the true cost of war. However, then the producers and writer/director Gavin Hood clearly get a bit nervous about such a downbeat ending so they attach a pointless grab for a more hopeful sequel.

Nevertheless Ender's Game makes up for an occasionally clunky script with some impressive spectacle and weighty themes that lift it slightly above the average soulless science fiction extravaganza.

Check out my videos from the Ender's Game Q&A in London:













More on Ender's Game:

Ender's Game Q and A with Harrison Ford, Ben Kingsley, Asa Butterfield, Hailee SteinFeld and Gavin Hood

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Ender's Game Q and A with Harrison Ford, Ben Kingsley, Asa Butterfield, Hailee SteinFeld and Gavin Hood

Ahead of the release of Gavin Hood's sci-fi epic Ender's Game, the stars were in London's Leicester Square for a Q&A event and to share some clips from the film with a huge crowd of expectant fans. After screening the trailer and two clips from the film released on October 25th, the stars took to the stage to answer questions from fans.

It got off to a rocky start with some unexpected delays but finally producers Bob Orci, Gigi Pritzker, stars Sir Ben Kingsley, Asa Butterfield, Harrison Ford, Hailee Steinfeld and director Gavin Hood took their seats to much applause. Harrison Ford appeared to be in a good mood, if a little slow sadly these days as he speaks and thinks. Sir Ben spoke at length about his character while Asa Butterfield also had plenty to say on his experience of making the film. While Steinfeld was quiet, she was charming whenever she spoke. Director Gavin Hood and the producers all demonstrated their passion for the film and the book it was based on.

Nothing was mentioned on the whole Orson Scott Card homophobic controversy unfortunately as I would have been interested to see what would have been said on it. I completely understand people wanting to boycott this movie if you feel strongly about what Card has said in the past but on  the other hand, whether the guy is homophobic or not makes no difference to his talent as a writer. It's difficult as I don't want to make the guy even richer or give his views any more publicity but I think the film looks interesting and I hope it has some important points to make about war.

The book is nearly 30 years old and seems to have been very prescient. Gavin Hood gave us Tsotsi and adapted Card's much loved book for the screen. Producer Gigi Pritzker has been trying to get the film made since buying the rights 13 years ago so it's been a pretty epic struggle to get it made. Along with Butterfield, Steinfeld and the big guns Sir Ben and Mr Ford, the film also stars Little Miss Sunshine's Abigail Breslin and The Help's Viola Davis.

It could be Starship Troopers without the satire or it could be a serious Independence Day with added moral ambiguity and complex themes about the ethics of war. Either way it was an interesting Q&A and I hope you will check out my videos from the event below and at the bottom is the trailer:

Harrison Ford on Special effects from Star Wars to Ender's Game:

Ben Kingsley, Asa Butterfield and Gavin Hood on Ender's Game adaptation

Hailee Steinfeld on Ender's Game characters




Director Gavin Hood talks casting Ender's Game




Ben Kingsley discusses his character in Ender's Game




Asa Butterfield & Harrison Ford talk Ender's Game