'Ender's Game' Movie Review: A Sci-Fi Movie Riddled in Bad Performances and No Suspense

Every year Hollywood studios release a new science fiction/ fantasy movie based on an acclaimed or popular book in hopes of trying to find the next big franchise. "Ender's Game" is the latest book to be adapted with this intentions, but the results are far from satisfactory.

The film, based on the popular Orson Scott Card,  tells the story of Ender Wiggin (Asa Butterfield), a brilliant young mind, who is recruited and trained by the international military to lead his fellow soldiers into a battle that will determine the fate of Earth after a an Alien invasion.

The book was said to be unfilmable by the original author and the movie fully justifies this claim. The biggest issue is that there is absolutely no conflict or tension felt throughout. Colonel Graff (Harrison Ford) continuously tells Ender that he is the only hope to save the world. However whenever the film goes to planet earth, director Gavin Hood shoots the earth with sunny lighting and always emphasizes the beautiful terrain, particularly in a scene where Ender's sister Valentine (Abigail Breslin) tells him that the world is counting on him. The viewer glimpses a brief attack from the aliens, but their inactivity throughout the film makes them feel less like a true antagonist threat and more like an excuse to convince the viewer that tension exists. The outcome is that there is there is no sense of impending doom visually or emotionally.  

Another issue is that Ender spends the majority of the film training and playing video games. While the experience of watching the activities is exhilarating all the training seems superfluous. At one point the characters are flying in a zero gravity battle room where they shoot each other and then they are physically training. However when Ender and his crew get to finally battle versus the enemy they are in a command room where none of the training skills they learned are physically put to the test.

The film has been promoted as an action-adventure but it rarely has any of either. Those hoping to see exotic planets with diverse life forms will undoubtedly be disappointed as the story is restricted to a few battle stations with a few forays onto Earth. The film's most prominent actions are the constant repetition of conversations the audience has heard in the first five minutes of the movie. On one hand is the constant reference to Ender as the savior of the world and on the other is the persistent reference to the legendary fighter (Mazer Rackham) and how he defeated the alien species during the first battle. The action only comes to the end but it is merely a child playing with a computer screen.

Another issue lies in the underdeveloped characters. Major Gwen Anderson (Viola Davis) shows up for a number of scenes and is key to the development of Ender. However she quickly disappears after one argument with Graff; this anti-climactic ending to the character makes her feel unfinished and ultimately empty and meaningless. Petra Arkanian (Hailee Steinfeld) seems like a love interest initially as the development of their friendship is placed into sharp focus throughout. However she disappears and then reappears near the end; her development ceases and she becomes little more than a plot device. Bonzo, played by Moises Arias, is one of the film's most pathetic characters as he attempts impose his superiority despite looking insignificant in front of everyone else. Arias is far from intimidating and spends most of his time looking whiny and annoying. The rest of the Ender's crew feel like generic caricatures that really have no personality and never stand out.

Thankfully the film is anchored by a Asa Butterfield who has become of the most promising young talents in the past years. Butterfield imbues melancholic touches in the opening of the film as he is rejected by the rest of the kids. In a scene when he has a chip taken out of his neck, Butterfield's face displays fear and sadness. In a later scene when he is attacked by Bonzo, Butterfield brings out anger but at the same time hesitation when he is fighting. In another scene when Colonel Graff tells him the truth about the video game, Butterfield's emotions poor out and show his guilt and torment for what he has done. The actor does have a few odd moments when his voice cracks, but he is one of the few redeemable qualities of the film.

Harrison Ford also gives a solid performance as the ruthless Graff. The viewer always feels that there is treachery behind the character, but Ford manages to bring his trademark charm to a few sequences to lighten the role and make him more approachable.

Another part of the film that also stands out is Steve Jablonsky's rhythmic and minimalist score that creates pulsating effect and makes the movie move at a quicker pace. The production design by Sean Haworth and Ben Procter is also beautiful creating some intricate space station that are beautiful to look at and that pull the viewer into the world regardless of the clumsy plot.

Gavin Hood's visual presence is not felt as he relegates his creativity to the obvious studio system's cinematic cliché's - the closeup, the crane shot to establish a location and the dolly. Ultimately the film could been directed by anyone.

"Ender's Game" is at times an enjoyable viewing experience but it lacks the tension to truly be engrossing and has too many poor performances and underdeveloped characters to be taken as seriously as the source material that it came from.