I always get nervous when Hollywood turns good books into movies. It is so hard to do a book justice, because there is usually too much information to cover. Nobody puts a time limit on a book. So for this reason I was a little wary when I went to see “Ender’s Game.” I was pleasantly surprised.
Gavin Hood, the director and writer, did an excellent job adapting the well known classic by Orson Scott Card into a film. Of course, he had to make some cuts to make the story fit within a two hour time frame, but did remarkably well including all the main points.
Some things were a little rushed. For example, the relationship between Ender and his brother Peter played such a huge influence on Ender in the book and there were many pages dedicated to the pair of them. Hood was only able to include Peter in the film in brief moments but managed to communicate how important he was to Ender’s psyche.
All in all, I think Hood cut what he had to, to make the story flow and fit his time limit. It was like watching “Ender’s Game” on fast-forward.
Making a movie of “Ender’s Game” has been in the works for years. Warner Bros developed the film and intended to release it around 2003, but obviously their plans fell through. Good thing, too, because Hood found the absolute best Ender for the movie. Asa Butterfield embodied Ender perfectly and was just how you’d imagine he’d be. He stole the film.
Of course, Harrison Ford was also in the movie and he always does a good job. Though, I would have liked to see him be a little gruffer as Colonel Graff. He seemed a little too nice in the movie, while Graff is extremely harsh in the book.
The acting, story and filming all melded together well. There were no cheesy graphics that I noticed and Hood was able to pull you right into the moment. I give this movie four buffalo chips. I highly recommend it; especially to all the fans of the book out there. If you go expecting to see an abbreviated version of the book, then you won’t be disappointed.
