Ender’s Game Review

Premise: In the wake on an alien attack, a child super-soldier is called in to command the human fighting against the invasion. Directed by Gavin Hood. Starring Asa Butterfield, Harrison Ford, Abigail Breslin, Hailee Steinfeld, Ben Kingsley, and Viola Davis.

Pros: I’m a fan of the novel, and I’ve wondered what a film would be like. But since Orson Scott Card is a hugely controversial figure and the material has the potential to become a political minefield. Ender and his brigade are essentially child soldiers, and most moral guardians don’t take kindly to that sort of thing, to say the least. But I must say Gavin Hood and company have preserved the spirit of the book while omitting parts that are unnecessary or unsavory. This is quite a good adaptation. (But is it a good film? We’ll get to that later.

Butterfield’s performance as this young military commander is quite good. I’ve been convinced since the BBC’s “Merlin” that Butterfield is one of the top young actors working today, and this film re-validates that sentiment. It’s hardly Oscar-worthy, but coming from an actor this young, I’d say his performance is pretty good. 

Cons: The film’s downfall lies in it’s storytelling. There’s the old rule that you “show, don’t tell”. This film, unfortunately, does neither. Many elements are just…there. For example, why are the child soldiers used? Why did the aliens attack? Why is Ben Kingsley even there? There’s a lot of questions that I feel were answered poorly. 

The dialogue is pretty bad as well. Harrison Ford phones his lines in, but even someone who cared wouldn’t really be an improvement. Viola Davis and the extras also get some frankly laughable excuses for dialogue that harkens back to the former two “Star Wars” prequels. If you want Shakespearian-quality dialogue, you’ll probably die of shock before you get to the credits.

Verdict: Although props go to Gavin Hood for getting the film made at all, “Enders Game” is a clunky would-be sci-fi epic that always feels worse than it should. Not bad per se, but not really worth seeing either. Overall, I give it a 5/10.