Don't watch with pre-conceived notions of how it should be done

Rating: 7/10 (21 March 2014)

I've never read the books, only the Wikipedia article, so I watched this with little preconceived notions of how it should have been done. And I thought, as a movie, that it acquitted itself quite well amidst all the news and hype surrounding it.
I found the movie story told well enough - children recruited for war and the dilemmas it posed, a colonel with a win-at-all-costs attitude and his independent protégé who disagreed. I read some comments which reviled the movie's pace, but I think it was meant to be that way, keeping in mind that the creator of Ender's Game resisted a film adaptation until he had control of the script. I conclude that the movie must have at least compared well enough with his vision for it.
The visuals were well done, even if I had some problems with some of the exaggerated gestures used that distracted me from the battle screens. The battle scenes and views of the fleet were done epic-style, but I did wish there were more of it. I also wished the battle and fight scenes were longer - the rush didn't have much time grow before you're forced to the climax.
The standout actors have to be Harrison Ford and Asa Butterfield. Ford is excellent in his portrayal of Colonel Graff - the no-nonsense commander who has seemingly no compassion, whose only goal is to win at any and all costs. Butterfield acquitted himself well in the role, but his emotions seem forced - you couldn't really see the battles in his mind unless they were spoken out loud. This may be a fault of the script - there isn't really a lot of time for character development considering the fast tempo of the film. What time was spent for development wasn't used effectively enough.
The other actors in the movie performed a good job. The majority of the main cast are child actors, and they did well in roles which did not allow them to be children.
If you don't come watching this hoping to see a 100% faithful adaptation of the book, you will be able to enjoy the movie for its story, its visuals and the acting.