As a Fan of the Book, I Thought the Film Was Great: Also, Boycotting It Is Silly

Rating: 9/10 (16 November 2013)

It makes me awfully sad that a film like Pacific Rim has the same rating as Ender's Game. This is not just another stupid sci-fi cliché special FX-fest.
I've loved the book for a long time. I had low expectations for the film as I'd expected the producers to turn it into a special FX stunt show with clichés about alien invasions. But no: overall, I was really pleasantly surprised and moved. I don't know: maybe I'm biased because of my affinity for the book, but I thought it was a really good adaptation. A whole plethora of scenes gave me nerd-thrills, and having read the book I could fill in the missing details.
Yes, as you'd expect, the film skims over certain parts: some of my favourite parts of Ender's development are in his progression through Battle School, especially in turning the Dragon Team into the best team. The film slims this section down, not really showing Ender's strategic genius, but more suggesting it instead. Valentine is a bit of a plastic character. The entire bit about her web political writing is skipped.
But it still manages to capture the essence of the book. It captures the disturbing nature of training little kids (who, by the way, are the some of the best kid-actors I've seen in a while). It captures the dilemma's Ender's put through, and the way Graff has to treat him.
Also, it's beautiful! Well shot and fantastic visuals.
Oh, and for those who are talking about boycotting the film for Orson's homophobic views: that's ridiculous. First off, Orson is hardly the only stakeholder in this film, there are so many other people who don't deserve a boycott. Besides which, economically boycotting someone is not the way to deal with views that you disagree with. You show that people's views are wrong by showing that they're wrong and bigoted, not by stifling their ability to express their views at all (not that boycotting the film would even accomplish that). Anyway, we're probably funding so many other corporate criminals and scumbags and bigots on a daily basis with every purchase.
And finally: Orson himself might be a bigot but that doesn't mean this film doesn't send a message that is so much more thoughtful and sensitive than most other big-blockbuster sci-film about war and aliens. Watching his film will probably have a stronger moral effect than boycotting Orson will.
If you're a fan of the book, watch the film and decide for yourself if you like: the reviews are all so mixed it's hard to tell.