'Ender's Game' DVD Review: A Decent Take On A Classic Book

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by SeanBillingsFebruary 11, 2014, 4:10 pmDVD >

3.5/5

by SeanBillingsFebruary 11, 2014, 4:10 pmDVD >

Ender’s Game is an intense, science fiction film starring Asa Butterfield as Ender Wiggin, a young boy who lives in a society where war is in the front of every mind. The civilization of Earth was once attacked by an alien species and was only able to overcome the attack by the remarkable efforts of the famed commander Mazer Rackham (Ben Kingsley). Since that time, the humans have been training and preparing the children for the presumed war of the future when the “bugs” will return. Ender is watched and evaluated by Colonel Graff (Harrison Ford) and Major Anderson (Viola Davis), who think that Ender is the “chosen” leader, the one who will ultimately lead the next army to defeat the buggers in the next war.

Butterfield delivers a very intense performance and adequately portrays a conflicted young boy faced with challenges inside himself and in the outside world. Ender is the brightest child in any program and is brought up to battle school, a higher-level training institution that is located in space where the cadets are taught all the principles of battle. Ender is immediately singled out as the brightest and as this continues many of the other kids are attracted to him and others view him as a threat. Butterfield does a remarkable job of portraying a sense of not belonging despite all of the advantages that his character wields. The most notable example of his dilemma is when Ender is promoted and becomes part of Bonzo’s (Moises Arias) army. Arias’ character shows a clear disdain for Ender from the first moment they meet. Ender knows he is superior to his commander, but must respect his orders due to his rank.

When he finally achieves what his superiors expect of him, Ender realizes that what he thought all along was just a lie. Butterfield gives off a sense of purpose as Ender finally realizes what he is intended to do and embarks on a journey that will seemingly lead to another movie.

Ender's Game is a very noble attempt to recreate the world created in the book written by Orson Scott Card on which the movie is based; however, it is difficult to materialize the world that Card created in his novel. The cast delivers very intense performances from top to bottom and that, along with the fun game-like war atmosphere, is what keeps the audience entertained.

The DVD doesn’t include many special features; however, there are two features that feature interesting commentaries, one from Director Gavin Hood, and Producers Gigi Pritzker and Roberto Orci. Additionally there are a few deleted/extended scenes to the movie that are definitely worth giving a look.