November 14: Ender's game (2013 -- Gavin Hood)

★★★

I might have enjoyed Ender's Game more if it had had less money.  This is a film that feels like it should be smaller because of in the way it focuses on its simple ideas.  Ender's brother has failed at military college because he is too prone to violence, and his sister has likewise been bounced out because she is too empathetic.  Ender himself succeeds there, though, because he has a good balance of the two.  Ender's Game tells us that one should have martial prowess, but it’s important to understand the enemy first to be sure of the threat before attacking.  And in fact, when the militarist Colonel Graff finally gains the upper hand over the empathetic Major Anderson and uses Ender to achieve his battle aims, the teenage commander is appalled at Colonel’s manipulation and, gaining an insight into the Formics, sets about saving the species he was trained to destroy.  It’s this the kind of neatness of idea that makes Ender's Game have the feel of Gattica or Moon while simultaneously looking like a mega-EFX,  large cast star-vehicle.  It could have pulled off the thinness of its ideas if it had been less inflated.

Unfortunately, this is a big movie, and its scale magnifies problems we might’ve forgiven in a smaller film.  In Ender's Game fails to engage the sympathies of the audience.  The kids are oddly off-putting as they shout Marine chants, stand at attention and march together; adolescents going through adult motions don’t convince us that the kids have depth.  And nor does the script.  The film's contrived tableaus of school bullying and bf/gf play lack emotional depth and leave us as observers noting information.  It’s hard to engage the world of Ender’s Game sympathetically because the characters are as simple as the ideas.
addition to its neat polarities and the simple outcome of its story,

Ender’s Game ultimately provides us dedicated sci-fi fans with what we enjoy: some accessible ideas and lots of special effects.  It’s fun on screen.  However, you leave this film more dazzled by its look than moved by its characters and insight.