Entertaining but lacking the strength of the novel's main character

Rating: 7/10 (10 November 2013)

I remember "Ender's Game" making the rounds at the lunch table in my freshman year of high school. As each student in our clique of slightly Gothic and artistic individuals finished novels in the series, we passed them on to the next person. So, I eagerly awaited the release of this film after seeing the trailer during my last trip to the theater.
The story about a young prodigy, chosen as a sole commander of the earth's battle forces, is presented in much a similar fashion as in the novel. Asa Butterfield is Ender, the protagonist, who trains to lead the earth forces. Harrison Ford is his, sometimes, none-too-gentle superior who steers him in this endeavor as General Graff. I feel that in the novel, Ender is a much stronger character than the one portrayed in this film version. However, I've come to like the slightly more subtle Ender that might contribute less to deluded feelings of grandeur or overestimating one's ability to succeed in real life. Admittedly, after watching two hours of Ender's Game, I came out of the theater feeling like I could stop traffic with my eyes closed while waving popcorn from the machine, whimsically, through the air, across the lobby, out through the door, and into my mouth. Some moments in the novel and the movie are just magical like that!
I had three friends with me, and after getting a feel for their opinion afterward, I think this movie is best suited to us sci-fi, fantasy, and "geeky" types. I would have loved for all of my friends to have enjoyed Ender's Game as immensely as I did, but I suppose I can't turn them all. ;)