Ender's Game

Scott Hardie: “It ruled.”

Critics have not been kind to this film. I agree that it lacks subtlety and subtext; Starship Troopers was a much smarter and more self-aware take on similar source material. But I was awed and engrossed all the same, I think most of all by the film's relentless momentum. This movie hurtles along at a breakneck pace like it has an urgent message to impart about the moral lessons learned by its hero, and as such, it recreates the excitement of discovering and devouring this tale as a teenaged reader would.

The special effects are beyond impressive. It's been reported that Orson Scott Card resisted Hollywood's offers for years until he could exert the creative control that he wanted, but his wait also allowed for the current generation of CGI artistry to create these elaborate space battles in ways that wouldn't have been as impressive even a decade ago. You can take or leave its embedded message depending on your philosophical inclination, but as sheer sci-fi entertainment, this is satisfying stuff.

− November 5, 2013 • more by Scott • log in or create an account to reply

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Evie Totty: “It ruled.”

I saw it on IMAX - too bad it wasn't available in IMAX 3D... you can read the 'spoiler' version of what I thought over at movie of the month...

I thought the movie wasn't as good w/out the siblings' story and it did seem a bit rushed. I had no concept of the passage of time - it seemed like the academy was just 3 days long. And I had a little trouble with the ending.

That said, I thought the movie was well done. I agree with Scott - w/out the A-list actors it would not have been as good as it ended up being. The special effects were great - the last battle was impressive.

I hate it only made 28M. I have been looking forward to this movie for a couple of years now (I even followed it's Tumblr...)

− November 11, 2013 • more by Evie • log in or create an account to reply

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