Better than the novel!

Rating: 7/10 (19 December 2014)

Personally, I found the O.S. Card novel that forms the basis for this film cluttered with tedious subplots and superfluous details. The seemingly unending zero-G battles became a bore, and especially the political manipulation of the earth's population over the net by Peter and Valentine were all so over-explained and unrealistic so as to be rather nauseating.
I loved how the film stuck right to the main points of the story without muddling it up with a lot of syfy decorations that added nothing dramatically to the main story. There were many points in the story that were actually obscured by Card's overblown prose in the book, but were perfectly, clearly expressed by the film because it stayed on point and did not wander aimlessly through the landscape of Card's rather amateurish attempt at creating a viable world.
Acting was quite good for a syfy movie, especially Asa Butterfield's Ender.
The set design was especially good, with the zero-G battles staged clearly and efficiently just the way I imagined them. The final battle effects were particularly impressive, and also clearly related the battle situations and strategies for the audience. I was able to grasp much more of the essential story information from this film than I ever did from the novel, which left me coldly apathetic toward both Ender and the plight of the Formics.
Thanks, Gavin Hood, for making Card's muddle-headed writing make sense!