movies/tv Ender's Game (SPOILERS)

[Hawk Moth 390]

I saw the film yesterday and loved it. In my opinion it was a very well-thought out adaptation that hit most of the book's key points. Like all adaptations, one cannot simply cover everything, and the films that try to usually end up with major pacing issues, Watchmen being a prime example in my mind. I was particularly impressed by the casting: Butterfield was an excellent Ender, and Steinfeld was great as Petra. What were your all's thoughts for those who have also read the book? For those who have only seen the film, what did you think as well?

[duidamasterXD 9,627]

My love of the book caused me to have unfairly high standards for this movie. Keep that in mind when I say that I wasn't really a huge fan. The actor for Bonzo did a good job, but I felt that he didn't really fit with how the book described him. His biggest physical characteristic in the books is that he's beautiful, but the movie just threw that out the window and decided to go with somebody shorter than the actor for Bean. Suppose there's something to be said for going with an actor who's able to become the character, but it still threw me for a loop. Kinda the same for Petra, though the issue with her was also with the writing in general, in my opinion. I felt that it was a book that didn't translate well into film and that even if it was nice to see some of the concepts brought to life, I was still kinda disappointed none the less. Ender's Shadow might have worked better as a movie, though it obviously doesn't have the popularity of the original book.

[Hawk Moth 390]

My love of the book caused me to have unfairly high standards for this movie. Keep that in mind when I say that I wasn't really a huge fan. The actor for Bonzo did a good job, but I felt that he didn't really fit with how the book described him. His biggest physical characteristic in the books is that he's beautiful, but the movie just threw that out the window and decided to go with somebody shorter than the actor for Bean. Suppose there's something to be said for going with an actor who's able to become the character, but it still threw me for a loop. Kinda the same for Petra, though the issue with her was also with the writing in general, in my opinion. I felt that it was a book that didn't translate well into film and that even if it was nice to see some of the concepts brought to life, I was still kinda disappointed none the less. Ender's Shadow might have worked better as a movie, though it obviously doesn't have the popularity of the original book.

 

Bonzo was described as being beautiful? I always saw him as a brat with a Napoleon complex, so I thought he was portrayed great in the film. I agree that Ender's Shadow would make a better movie, but I didn't like the book too much. My issue with Bean in the movie was that he didn't look Dutch. I have to disagree about Petra though; I thought she did a good job, especially in the undeveloped love between she and Ender. I was worried that the film would change the ending or take out really important things like the fantasy game, and while the fantasy game was truncated a lot, the film portrayed the important parts: Ender killing the giant, the Bugger queen, Valentine in the egg, and Peter the viper. Graff and Anderson's argument over the game, explaining that the game had superseded its programming was also a big deal that I'm glad got touched on. I suppose we just have differing opinions. In the end, I think it was the best adaptation that could be made. The B plot with Peter and Valentine on Earth works in literature but would kill pacing in film. Battle School could have been a movie in itself as well, and in the end, the ellipsis showing Dragon Team's victories suited the film's purposes. Of course it was much more meaningful in the book, illustrating each battle to enunciate how wretchedly hard Graff was pushing Ender, but those battles, especially the final one were spot on. The 2 on 1 battle looked exactly like how I imagined it. Overall, my biggest gripe was that the film left out the fact that Ender accidentally killed Bonzo and the bully at school. The idea that Ender wanted to be a good guy yet was only capable of bad things was a big deal in the book for me - how despite the fact that Peter was the vicious sociopath, Ender was the one who actually did damage.

[Ragnarok 52]

What made Ender's Game a great novel is lost on the movie.

There is one event in the book where Ender breaches his isolation from the other students by gradually forming a relationship with Alai someone who is part of an Ender-hate faction. Ender intentionally takes steps to make sure they can talk and develops an actual close relationship with Alai resulting in him being able to break the ice with the rest of his classmates and form relationships with them.

 

Take a note that there explicitly is no Ender-hate faction. Rather a psychological phenomenon where Ender accidentally breaks the arm of another cadet named Bernard after he continually pesters Ender. Bernard gets pitied and uses that pity as leverage to extend his own influence which is permeated with anti-Ender sentiment. Coupling this with Gaff (his commander) isolating him on the shuttle to school by highlighting him as being special leads to his intellect being an ostracizing element. Despite this, Ender's intellect enables him to make social relationships despite the barriers Gaff constantly erects. Gaff does this in order to forge Ender to rely only on himself on finding solutions because he is being groomed to be the definitive commander. The movie does tie this into the tone of the film by emphasizing Anderson's role in questioning Graff's hard stance on Ender and how it factors into his sense of humanity. However, it still neglects providing any development to answering who or what is Ender Wiggin.

 

The beginning of the book is largely framed by psychological conflict and side questioning. One which proceeds throughout the book is that Ender can never figure out Gaff and it is a source of intense questioning within the book whether Gaff can be considered a friend. In the movie, Gaff is Harrison Ford who makes it blatantly clear that he believes Ender is a genius and is supporting him 100% of the way leaving the audience to question Ender's objectivity and at best leaves him to be pitied. Unfortunately Ender's Game was written for the reader to immerse themselves in Ender's ego and his point of view. The rare times that we see Graff and Anderson talking are rare conversations that seem to be like treats given to us, however we remain primarily identified with Ender in our thought process. The movie closes off Ender to us, his thoughts and amibtions behind his actions remain amibigous and the watcher is left with the open question of exactly who is Ender and what makes him tick making us align our view process more with Graff/Anderson than with Ender whose thoughts were an open book to us.

Ender's game isn't about the results, it's about the methods and the means. Ender is capable of discerning the motives of other characters, how their opinions will develop, and what he should do in order to achieve his own objectives. This is Ender's genius. Although it can be said in some form of the book and movie that Ender does get tired of the game, the underlying motive and method varies from book to film. A key point of this disinterest occurs when Bonzo Madrid assaults Ender in the showers forcing him to take defensive action to fend him off.

 

In the book, Ender begins to despise the system that creates the malicious attitude that Bonzo sported. He doesn't fault Bonzo himself but rather the education at battle school that 'created' someone to become 'Bonzo' or put someone like Bonzo in a position of high responsibility when it should have been obvious that such a commander would not be effective in actual combat. In the movie, Bonzo's brain is on display and a mechanical arm robot is doing surgery on him. Ender gets upset. The audience is left to assume that this is a discourse of the cost of war. Harrison Ford is called a monster, but yet again we don't know what Ender thinks. We are just left to our own musings of how bad he is treated and that our pity is analogous to his own emotional pattern (it's not).

The lack of having a personal insight into Ender makes the movie lifeless and mechanical. When Ender expresses emotions it is a 'duh' moment precisely because Hollywood took short cuts in making this big screen. In utilizing Petra, she is abstracted from being a fierce self-advocate to being a tom-boy love interest. Why. She is the only female cadet really mentioned in any detail in the book therefore making her the only heterosexual love interest Ender could develop if she was even into that type of thing.

 

I was highly upset with the movie because I felt that it wasn't an advocate for the source content which was the book. The movie was a fraud of the original, presenting the scenes however without the underlying intent and inner meaning the actions are supposed to hold. And when you simply look at the end and don't bother to look at the means, methods, reasons, and motivations the characters go through in order to work out their complicated life at Battle School then you've lost the end of Ender's Game. It is Ender's ability to emphathize others that is central to his ability to command and also an integral part of what makes him a 'genius.' The joy of Ender's Game is being able to see the mind at work rather than simply stare at Harrison Ford gasp in awe at the manifestations of an unprecedented genius.

Edited November 3, 2013 by Lincesa

[duidamasterXD 9,627]

 

 

Bonzo was described as being beautiful? I always saw him as a brat with a Napoleon complex, so I thought he was portrayed great in the film.

 

His pride and honor are definitely what drives him as a character, but he's actually always described as somebody who people would want to follow into battle. Orson Scott Card actually wrote a short story about his life before Battle School called Pretty Boy. That's kinda overshadowed by him hating Ender for being better than him so much that he'd try to murder him, but it's still an aspect of his character that I kinda liked. Goes with my liking of people who are messed up inside but good looking outside I suppose. Still, I admit I'm being pretty nitpicky

 

 

 

I have to disagree about Petra though; I thought she did a good job, especially in the undeveloped love between she and Ender.

 

Eh, I kinda thought that Petra in the books was a more fun character. She felt almost too maternal or friendly with Ender in the movie, where in the book she still obviously was very close to him, but their relationship was very different. Petra in the books was a bit more aggressive, independent and prideful, it felt like. Again, just me being kinda nitpicky.

 

 

 

Overall, my biggest gripe was that the film left out the fact that Ender accidentally killed Bonzo and the bully at school. The idea that Ender wanted to be a good guy yet was only capable of bad things was a big deal in the book for me - how despite the fact that Peter was the vicious sociopath, Ender was the one who actually did damage.

 

Aye. I think one of my friends said it best when they pointed out that the thing that made Ender's Game special was that it took place inside Ender's brain. You could see how special he was and how good of a kid he was, even if he ended up doing some terrible things because he was somewhat forced into them. Inevitably the movie was going to have trouble showing us how Ender felt to the same degree.