Ender's Game (12A.)
Directed by Gavin Hood.
Starring Asa Butterfield, Harrison Ford, Hailee Steinfeld, Viola Davis, Abigail Breslin and Ben Kingsley. 116 mins
Who watches the Watchmen? Well, right now probably next to nobody. When it was released Zach Snyder’s version of Alan Moore’s comic book was lauded for its fidelity to the text but what that amounted to was a methodical, page by page, recreation of the original that didn’t engage with non-readers and was little more than a visual souvenir for fans. After some initial excitement it quickly shrivelled away out of view. Something similar has happened to the screen adaptation of the classic sci-fi novel Ender’s Game.
70 years previous the Earth had almost been devastated by an alien invasion from an insect race called The Formic (understandably changed from The Buggers in the book.) The military test children looking for a leader to command earth’s forces in the inevitable second conflict and take them from their families to train and play war games in an orbital training academy. Graft (Ford) believes Ender (Butterfield) is that leader but to prove it he has to make life as difficult as possible for him in the academy. Orson Scott Card’s novel managed to be a cracking good yarn while also being thoughtful and reflective. As a film it plays like a non-satirical Starship Trooper/ kiddie Full Metal Jacket hybrid.
The film version is written and directed by Gavin Hood of X-Men Origins: Wolverine notoriety and bungles both tasks here. The script just cherry picks the crucial moments from the book and sticks them together in chronological order, but without any of what goes around it and gives it meaning and depth: to the extent that if you haven’t read the book it is not at all certain that you wilI understand what is going on, much less care. The story contain a big, Ta Da reveal but the film also manages to blunt the impact of that.
All this would matter less if there was a visual dynamism to it but most of the scenes look like derivative and cheaper versions of previous films so it doesn’t have spectacle to fall back on. The film looks like it has been cut down from something rather longer and that it was made in a hurry. There is one scene where Ford is in close up where a crumb can be seen on his lower lip. It’s a real shame because after a summer of mostly dull tentpole films, here was an attempt to do something a bit bolder and braver and if it doesn’t find an audience there may not be another for a long time.
Directed by Gavin Hood.
Starring Asa Butterfield, Harrison Ford, Hailee Steinfeld, Viola Davis, Abigail Breslin and Ben Kingsley. 116 mins
Who watches the Watchmen? Well, right now probably next to nobody. When it was released Zach Snyder’s version of Alan Moore’s comic book was lauded for its fidelity to the text but what that amounted to was a methodical, page by page, recreation of the original that didn’t engage with non-readers and was little more than a visual souvenir for fans. After some initial excitement it quickly shrivelled away out of view. Something similar has happened to the screen adaptation of the classic sci-fi novel Ender’s Game.
70 years previous the Earth had almost been devastated by an alien invasion from an insect race called The Formic (understandably changed from The Buggers in the book.) The military test children looking for a leader to command earth’s forces in the inevitable second conflict and take them from their families to train and play war games in an orbital training academy. Graft (Ford) believes Ender (Butterfield) is that leader but to prove it he has to make life as difficult as possible for him in the academy. Orson Scott Card’s novel managed to be a cracking good yarn while also being thoughtful and reflective. As a film it plays like a non-satirical Starship Trooper/ kiddie Full Metal Jacket hybrid.
The film version is written and directed by Gavin Hood of X-Men Origins: Wolverine notoriety and bungles both tasks here. The script just cherry picks the crucial moments from the book and sticks them together in chronological order, but without any of what goes around it and gives it meaning and depth: to the extent that if you haven’t read the book it is not at all certain that you wilI understand what is going on, much less care. The story contain a big, Ta Da reveal but the film also manages to blunt the impact of that.
All this would matter less if there was a visual dynamism to it but most of the scenes look like derivative and cheaper versions of previous films so it doesn’t have spectacle to fall back on. The film looks like it has been cut down from something rather longer and that it was made in a hurry. There is one scene where Ford is in close up where a crumb can be seen on his lower lip. It’s a real shame because after a summer of mostly dull tentpole films, here was an attempt to do something a bit bolder and braver and if it doesn’t find an audience there may not be another for a long time.
