Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
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THE FUTURE — Fans have long waited for a film version of Orson Scott Card's beloved novel "Ender's Game." Well, friends, while the film has its problems, it was worth the wait.
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Here are three reasons you're going to like "Ender's Game."
SPOILER FREE
Story
For those who have read the book, you know the deep and enthralling story of Ender Wiggin. For those who have not read the book, you're still going to be interested and, at times, moved.
Card built a huge and complex story that is both deep and rich with its own history and everyone knew bringing that to the screen was going to be problematic. Writer/director Gavin Hood did not pull it off perfectly, but he did a mighty fine job of finding the important and crucial plot points and making sure they translated to the screen.
Visually Massive
An "Ender's Game" movie has been 28 years in the making and much of that had to do with the fact that the technology was not ready to support the film.
"Ender's Game" is a sci-fi film with massive set pieces and new worlds we've never seen. The computer-generated images (CGI) in "Ender's Game" are stunning and nearly seamless.
A great deal of the film's massive budget, estimated at over $100 million, went to the CGI and it paid off.
The training scenes in the Battle Room and the Command School simulator alone are worth your time. These scenes will literally leave mouths agape and eyes wide.
Intriguing
"Ender's Game" the novel is full of moral dilemmas and "what would you do?" moments and Hood makes sure to keep those questions and gray areas in the film.
If you already know the story you're intrigued as to how they are going to pull it off. If you are not aware of the story, you will be intrigued by the scenarios presented and curious where the story will take you.
The film is at times predictable whether you know the story or not, but it will also catch you off guard at times, which will keep you watching.
Problems
This film is not void of problems, however. One of the biggest problems of the film is the actors.
That is not to say that every one in the film is bad, there are just a few performances that manage to take you out of the moment.
Staying on the subject of actors, the two most solid performances come from Viola Davis and Sir Ben Kingsley, but neither really gets the screen time they deserve.
The few problems here and there, however, can't ruin the film and everything else it has to offer.
Have you seen "Ender's Game"? What did you think? Let me know on the comment boards, Facebook, Twitter or send an email.
Make sure to listen to the Flicks Junkies Podcast where we chat more about "Ender's Game," spoiler free as always, and also talk about "X-Men Days of Future Past" and "Tommy Boy."
