The Easy Way

Rating: 7/10 (5 December 2013)

Ender's Game was one of those books that has influenced generations, mostly modern young adult novels; a special kid who is chosen to save the day but has to go on a special school or place to apply what he is destined for. A film adaptation is pretty obvious and how it ended up is as intriguing as it gets. It's immediately gripping at the very start. Even though the film is able to introduce its concept cleverly, the film suffers for lacking enough interest in fleshing out the rest of its universe. But again, it works better at delivering its style. Ender's Game is a solidly made film that has plenty of ways to covered up some of the flaws and instead make the overall film inevitably entertaining.
To be honest, the plot is well told. The real danger rather focuses on what the kids would end up after the military training than what the aliens would do to Earth. It's basic personal stuff towards Ender, which makes it quite gripping. While it decently follows its meat, the exposition moves too easy. The narratives may be straightforward and all, but there is a little sense of subtlety to the journey. At times it also feels cold. That's probably the result for not spending enough time developing Ender's relationship to the people around him. The film should have prioritized characterization as well to at least made some of its points compelling.
And so the humanity of the characters are somewhat now relied on the actors. Asa Butterfield has a built for a hero, but other than the witty side, he is able to express the character's angst quite well to be relatable. Harrison Ford, Viola Davis, and Ben Kingsley did what they had to do, and it's good enough for the roles. Most of the credit goes to the direction. Gavin Hood displays sorts of gorgeous shots around its Sci-Fi aesthetics. Following the camera easily brings a large adventurous experience along the way, providing vertigo and excitement. The visual effects obviously helps heightening things up. It's just great to look at and it's appropriately satisfying as a standard action blockbuster.
Ender's Game deserves to flesh things out more within the heart and the characters, but it's still a decently crafted movie. There's a sheer sense of adventure by the filmmaking. The world is already intriguing anyway, but there is definitely more interesting things that it might've developed to make it a lot more engaging. Again, it was the style that helped the audience thoroughly connect to the story. Ender's Game may not be as sensational as some other YA films out there, but it gets its job done well to keep it away from the worse ones.