It’s been a long time coming, but Orson Scott Card’s revered sci-fi novel has finally hit the big screen. Much of the wait likely had to do with waiting for technology to make an adaptation possible – lifelike zero gravity and deep space manoeuvres being critical to the film. Yes, it’s a bit like Gravity, which outshines Ender’s Game visually in some departments. But since Gravity doesn’t have aliens, massive space battles and kids pummelling the crap out of each other, that’s a bit of an unfair comparison.
What Ender’s Game has going for it is a more robust, unpredictable and downright grim narrative than many of the young adult fiction adaptations the movie looks like. That’s because, despite the age of many core cast and the way the film first appears, that’s not what the novel is. This is sci-fi fare that’s fine for teens to see, but it’s not written solely with them in mind.
Bringing the character of Ender to life, Asa Butterfield (Hugo) turns in an impressive performance. Whether confident or conflicted, he’s always convincing as a youngster trained from birth as a master strategist and mankind’s great hope. As his mentor (sometime tormentor) Colonel Graff, Harrison Ford’s gruffness is the best thing he’s done in years, maybe even more than a decade. And the esteemed Ben Kingsley will provide unexpected comic relief for Kiwis, arriving complete with moko, half-Maori genes and a Kiwi accent that is hilariously terrible at times.
While the supporting characters often seem to come and go, and some elements of the novel not as thoroughly explored as some may expect, that’s because there’s a lot of story to get through. This efficient adaptation proves extremely watchable, and still packs an emotional punch.
