Justin Davis, Campus Carrier Asst. Photojournalism Editor
“Ender’s Game” is a tale of a brilliant child turned into a nobody. It is a tale of doing all it takes to save humanity. It is simultaneously thought-provoking and beautiful.
Ender Wiggin is a child prodigy in a military school, and the commanders of the school hope he will be humanity’s savior in its war against the insect-like alien race called only “the Formics.” Through various manipulative tests, battle games and simulations, the school’s leaders run Ender through the gauntlet to see if he has what it will take to keep Earth safe.
The film version of Orson Scott Card’s book really fires on some cylinders but, unfortunately, misses on a few others. The film follows the plot of the book fairly well but misses out on a few key points that significantly change what Ender stands for by the end of the film. On the surface it works, but it could have been much more poignant with a few minor changes.
Plot issues aside, “Ender’s Game” will, without a doubt, send Asa Butterfield on to greater success. The “Hugo” star showcased his talent with his portrayal of Ender Wiggin. Butterfield makes this incredibly complex character a reality in the sharpest way possible. He matches up beside Harrison Ford and Ben Kingsley, proving that he can act with the big boys. “True Grit’s” Hailee Steinfeld also further proved her merit in the role of Ender’s close friend Petra.
The battle room and the space skirmishes with the Formics come to life through some pretty impressive cinematography and effects work. Zero-gravity is a surprisingly hard thing to tackle in film, but director Gavin Hood and team took the time to make sure it looked right. The battle school game played by recruits, from which the movie gets its title, is a tricky and complex undertaking, but the movie manages to make it easy for the audience to understand. The space-based battles with the Formics are insanely chaotic, but somehow, it works.
All of the environments and visual elements are beautifully designed. The foreign world of the Formics is supremely alien, yet awe-inspiring. The Formics themselves, however, are a hive entity, and the movie captures that. Rather than visually terrifying monsters, the sheer number and swarm-like nature of the alien race is what makes them so frightening. The contrast between this chaos and the strict order of the human fleet is strangely captivating.
What makes “Ender’s Game” so powerful, however, is not its beautiful battle scenes though. Despite his young age, Ender is a recruit in the military. It may seem like something extreme and futuristic, but the film still asks its audience to step back and think about what members of the military have to go through to keep their families safe. It is an extremely powerful and important message that many may only experience through the film.
It may not quite stand up to the cornerstone of military fiction that is Card’s book, but “Ender’s Game” is still a fun blockbuster that just might inspire some thought in its audience. Really, it is worth seeing for Butterfield’s incredible performance alone, but the intriguing visual exploration of a possible future Earth makes for an engaging, if terrifying, view of humanity.