Looks pretty, but doesn't work as an adaptation

Rating: Null/10 (13 January 2014)

Ender's Game was never an easy book to adapt into a movie. It covers several years of time from the point of view of a young, growing boy, so having a single, identifiable child actor was always going to be difficult. And many of those years were important so you couldn't just skip over them, although this movie largely did just that, which pretty much killed any value or depth in it.
Not that I blame them for doing so, because it could have worked. Asa Butterfield hits that right butter zone, no pun intended, where he is old enough to be a capable actor, theoretically, but he isn't too old for a movie that's all about child soldiers. Compressing the timeline within a year allows Butterfield to play the lead throughout the entire film, though it creates the slightest sense of "why didn't they start this whole process sooner?" There's some handwaving involved, but it's not enough. Still, it's a tough problem and I can't blame them for trying.
Unfortunately it still leaves us with the problem of there not being enough character development. Ender's Game was always all about, well, Ender. It was his journey, and we followed as he grew up, learned from his mistakes, achieved victories. But when the movie isn't even two hours long - a bawling choice if there ever was one - we don't get to see much of that growth, which begs the question "What then?" What else is there to show if the film makers apparently decided that Ender's growth doesn't warrant much screen time?
Apparently special effects and flashy sets drew the long stick, as they're very much in front. This creates a weird paradox, because the actual book described to Battle School as a very sterile place. White and cold, a very utilitarian military feeling, yet there was a lot of going on on a personal level. Whereas in the movie there's too much flashiness on a visual level, but the character interactions feel sterile. Not the right call, film makers.
I really think that this movie would have benefited from an extra half an hour. Now everything feels shoehorned in and we don't get enough time or space to mull over things. It's supposed to be this big dramatic movie about using children as instruments of war, but the film tries to force the message down our throats through heavy dialogue and exposition. Not the right way to do pretty much anything. If you like the book, this isn't your movie. If you're looking for a visually pleasing scifi film, I've seen worse.