Needed to be longer

Rating: 3/10 (31 October 2013)

OK, So I am on record somewhere as saying "You, cannot expect a Film to be the same as the book". I whole heartedly believe that and have enjoyed many films that are based on books even with the differences necessary do to time and the visual media its being transferred too.
The book originated as the short story "Ender's Game", published in the August 1977 issue of Analog Science Fiction and Fact. Over the last few months since the announcement of the films release I have reread the book.
Those who have not read the book may enjoy the film but in the theater i was in I was talking with a few people around me and found that all did the same thing, one guy had reread it three times in the past month and one couple has read everything Orson Scott Card ahas written. From this word of mouth will kill this movie I think. It is seriously lacking in any real character development for ANY of the Characters in the film. I think many of the the actors where miscast and seriously took you out of the story.
Now I'm not talking about the fact that in the book the kids are 6-16 years old geniuses with the major character of Ender Wiggins being the youngest, there was no way a film could be made with a cast that young.
Im talking about the journey he takes in the book, its really well thought out and executed. In the film you really do not get to know anything about how or why they kids are there, nor why some of the major plot points happen. Most of the conflicts that happen throughout the book from his brother Peter, the Bully in school, Colonial Graff, and even Bonso Madrid are glossed over.
The entire storyline of whats happening on earth is completely missing, most likely for time. but that plot line was needed for some of the things that happen at the end of the book so without them end is weak.
Major plot devices like the development of the Battle room are abbreviated to one battle, that takes place between Enders group and two opposing armies and takes only a few min to play out. In the books there's a series of battles escalating to this one and with out the progression (those having read the book know what i mean) there's no real feeling of the stress that final battle meant in the ark of Enders Training.
I could go on about all the things wrong with the film, I even tried to calm myself down and try to look at it on its own merit and leave the book out of it, and trying that only saw how pathetically weak the exciting story was.
the film runs 114 min, I do not often say this but they really needed to make it about 150 min so they could do it right. maybe there's a longer directors cut that will come out on DVD that will rescue this film.