A mind-blowing ride with depth

Rating: 10/10 (17 April 2014)

As a fan of the book, I knew some cherished details would have to be left out. A four-hour movie would've been too long.
The team that put the movie together captured the heart of the story and stayed true to it. The visuals were stunning. The acting superb. And the pacing was riveting.
This was everything I could've hoped for in a movie. It revealed the inner character of Ender. It showed his vulnerabilities and told us what he cared about. As with any story that means something to us, the protagonist learned and grew. He became more than he was at the start and his evolution was believable--well-grounded in the events that touched him.
We owe a lot of this to the original author, but the screen writer could've botched it. Happily, he didn't.
Leaving out details that were in the book seems to have worked in the movie's favor, because it helped us to feel the uncomfortable changes in Ender's life--fast, unpredictable and jarring. With finesse, "Ender's Game" could deliver these feelings without jarring us out of the story, in a fashion similar to that of "Das Boot" showing us the sailors' boredom without the film itself becoming boring, or like the sentimental nature of "Casablanca" conveyed with care without becoming sappy.
I'm no fan of shallow entertainment and the fast-food, instant gratification junk that I'm seeing more and more of in so many film releases. But I'm no cynic, either. I don't have to have bigger, better, faster, louder. This film stands on its own. It provides a complete universe and a satisfying story arc.
This is the kind of film I don't mind watching again and again. I don't often give a film the highest rating. This one deserves it in every possible category.