Reactions to Ender's Game: The Movie

[Shardlet he/him]

I watched Ender's game a couple of weeks back.  And I admit that I had a difficult time divorcing myself from the book as I watched (although I tried very hard).  My overall impression of the movie was that it seemed rushed and and a bit shallow.

 

What are are/were your reactions to the movie?  I would especially love to hear from anyone who watched the movie, but has not yet read the book (or at least watched the movie first).

Edited December 4, 2013 by Shardlet

[Argent he/him]

Rushed is definitely how I felt about it as well. Another hour or two might have fixed it, but I was disappointed. Not disappointed that I went and saw it (I am happy I did), but disappointed by how much more they could've done with it.

[Shardlet he/him]

It is always hard seeing a story you love adapted for a film.  It rarely comes off in a satisfying manner.  Which is why I am at least somewhat terrified of the pending Mistborn movie.

[Kurkistan he/him]

It is always hard seeing a story you love adapted for a film.  It rarely comes off in a satisfying manner.  Which is why I am at least somewhat terrified of the pending Mistborn movie.

 

I'm afraid of ghostly, immaterial, and quite likely unreal things too.

 

(P.S. Unless something's actually moved forward on that front recently?)

Edited December 4, 2013 by Ookla the Inveterate

[bartbug he/him]

Uggh. The problem with that movie for me, at least, was how the beginning was so promising... so hopeful... it just crushed my dreams when the end felt so rushed and generalized. The way they ruined(ish) the sequel, which is a much better book, and the way that the ruined Ender and Bonzo, just really hurt me.

And on the Mistborn movie front, has anything happened? I feel if the video game is awesome enough, something might.

[Shardlet he/him]

Yes, Bonzo was the part I really didn't like.  I hated that they made Bonzo so much smaller than Ender.  It really changed the dynamic of that scene.

 

Nothing has happened with the movie that I know of. (Am I a bad person for being a little bit content with that?)

[Argent he/him]

Absolutely stunning visuals though, it has to be said.

[Mailliw73 he/him]

True that Argent. My biggest issue was the sped up pacing but that's somewhat understandable. It's hard to put 6 years of training in a 2.5 hour film. It was weird how Bonzo was a lot shorter than Ender.

[bartbug he/him]

Even the size of Bonzo, wasn't that bad. IN the original, the book (Major Spoiler), Ender deliberately attacks, and deliberately kills. It wasn't a conscious thought, but he was trying to attack and kill Bonzo. The movie made it look like it was an accident. I actually kind of liked how short Bonzo was, as it gave him a chip on his shoulder. He was plenty buff, though.

Kind of editing myself, but I was fine with Bonzo. I just don't like how they censored it for moneymaking while destroying the best part of the original message, and Ender's whole character conflict, especially considering how Bonzo was supposed to be a mirror for the Buggers.

[Ryan he/him]

I read the book, what...18 years ago now? Wow. Anyway, I agree with the "rushed" sentiment. It's funny, because the book isn't particularly long, but a lot of things about battle school and Ender's struggle for acceptance and his gradual scrabble to the top of the pack just don't really come through. There wasn't enough screen time for any of Ender's Jeesh to shine (except for maybe Petra, and to a much lesser extent, Bean).

 

You didn't really get a sense of how revolutionary Ender's tactics were, and how hard he had to struggle against the endlessly mounting odds. So much so, in fact, that when at the very end he shouts at Graff, "How do you like THAT?" it feels out of place, because you don't really feel where it's coming from.

 

I hate that they introduced FTL travel to the world, all seemingly so that Ender could run outside and find the last surviving Bugger queen. Have a "2 (relative) years later, on a different world" transition, and he can still find it, without wrecking the entire universe.

 

That's what I didn't like; overall, though, I loved the film. It brought the book to life in a way that few book to movie adaptations accomplish. And, despite all it didn't show of the original story, it managed to retain Ender's character: how he's one scary kid, how he struggles to maintain his humanity and innate goodness, and how he succeeds through the strength of his character and his connection to his sister Valentine. So for that, I'm glad it was made, and that I saw it.

[Windrunner he/him]

As someone who had never got around to reading the books, I enjoyed it. Not the greatest movie I've ever seen, but I'd watch it again and I want to check out the series now.

[Kurkistan he/him]

As someone who had never got around to reading the books, I enjoyed it. Not the greatest movie I've ever seen, but I'd watch it again and I want to check out the series now.

 

*Enters snob mode*

 

So far as the "series" goes, I would suggest that you read Ender's Game, Speaker for the Dead, and maybe some of the Shadow books (Ender's Shadow being my favorite by a long shot) and then stop. Things get much less good after Speaker...

[bartbug he/him]

Kurk! Xenocide is my favorite one! Though I will admit, Children of the Mind is a little... weird.

[Kurkistan he/him]

Kurk! Xenocide is my favorite one! Though I will admit, Children of the Mind is a little... weird.

 

In the words of Randall Munroe: "Cue angry letters from all seven fans of Xenocide."

[Dysphoric Kitten she/her]

Yeah, Xeno and Speaker is a known dispute as for where to stop. Myself, I read all of the main series and gave up on the shadows.

I have to mention my father's reaction (as we went together). He felt that at least half the plot was leaning on external knowledge (the book), and that the characters were flat. Therefore, he rated it as 'the worst film he had ever seen'. I saw something in it - especially the mind game, which was great.

However, we both agreed that:

A. Peter and Val vanished (and she was quite good, I think it was a wrong choice, although a viable one)

B. Petra is his love interest? Thank you, mainstream American movie culture, for being so dumb.

C. Colonel Graff shouted. (Pa was particularly disappointed in Ford (whom he considers a great actor) here) Thank you again, American movie culture, for your wealth of stupidity. As anyone who have been in the army knows (and yes, everyone here knows that - mandatory recruitment), that is in boot camp, and some time after then. But not nearly all the time, especially after boot camp. And even then, not all officers do that, mainly the one directly above you (mr. Black McPush-ups), not the person in the highest rank (Graff commands the whole ashy thing - he has silent power).

D. Not worth recommending nor recognizing. I would say it is worth the money, but this list is what what my father and I did agree upon.

(ninja'd by Kurk) you like xkcd as well? Cool.

Note: he is referring to the hint/title-text. Which means text that appears when your mouse pointer stays hovering motionlessly above the comic for a few seconds.

Edited December 9, 2013 by Ookla the Tardy

[Argent he/him]

(mr. Black McPush-ups)

 

*chuckles*

 

So, in essence, we are all disappointed, but we all think the movie was worth the $10 or so we spent on it. 

[Dysphoric Kitten she/her]

*chuckles*

So, in essence, we are all disappointed, but we all think the movie was worth the $10 or so we spent on it.

Well, as I did not exactly say, my father thinks it was not. By the way, he has had a passion for films and film critiquing most of his life.

when searching for the price here (I'm sure it was more than 10$), I opened a popular service for choosing films. In it, Ender was rated 8.3 by surfers, and 'exceptionally good' by a professional (which was 3.5 of 5 stars. Strange system). I chuckled at the 'exceptionally good', since it actually was exceptionally good for a book-to-film. It was a bit fun and had nice animation, at least.

And that chuckling of yours reminds me - Ender is told to do an amount of pushups (was it 20, 30?), but does only half.

Edited December 9, 2013 by Ookla the Tardy

[Bloodfalcon he/him]

Even the size of Bonzo, wasn't that bad. IN the original, the book (Major Spoiler), Ender deliberately attacks, and deliberately kills. It wasn't a conscious thought, but he was trying to attack and kill Bonzo. The movie made it look like it was an accident. I actually kind of liked how short Bonzo was, as it gave him a chip on his shoulder. He was plenty buff, though.

Kind of editing myself, but I was fine with Bonzo. I just don't like how they censored it for moneymaking while destroying the best part of the original message, and Ender's whole character conflict, especially considering how Bonzo was supposed to be a mirror for the Buggers.

This was my main concern. They cut out a ton of the main character by doing this. I think some focus group probably said they didn't like the main character after he killed someone and so they rewrote it or something. Anyway, both Bonzo and the kid at the start of the book are supposed to be pretty mangled purposely. It was like they needed to lower the rating from R to PG. Of all the problems, that was the biggest. 

The second biggest was that Ender is not supposed to be really tight with everyone (read anyone) until pretty far into the books. He is supposed to have one or two friends for most of the story, but in the movie, every time the kid turns around, someone is smiling at him or telling him he did a good job or something. Again, it isn't supposed to be a feel-good film, but I feel like they had to turn it down 5 notches for kids. 

Everything being rushed was a problem that I suspected would happen, but... man I wish they had just made two movies. They piled all of the dragon army battles into one and didn't even explain the wire part, which just made them look like cheaters.

And the Petra romance made me want to vomit on everyone who needs a love story in EVERY. SINGLE. MOVIE. 

That being said, overall, I enjoyed it, hahahahahaha!

Edited December 9, 2013 by Bloodfalcon