Andrew

I was anticipating the adaptation of Orson Scott Card's novel, Ender's Game because mainly it featured promising young actors vetted with Oscar-worthy actors. Yet the anticipation never built up to the usual blockbuster level. It seemed a very indie sci-fi film because of that. And early reviews didn't look that good and even my brother just said meh to this film. But yet, I'm a sci-fi freak. I even watched After Earth in cinemas this year and grinned happily and crazily at Tom Cruise's incredibly unoriginal sci-fi Oblivion. For the record, I didn't like After Earth but I loved Oblivion, but not loved it as much as Alfonso Cuaron's magnifico Gravity. The first trailer for Ender's Game pretty much sealed the deal for me. As for the book, I never got past a third of the book. Too busy.

The story is about Andrew Wiggin, awfully nicknamed Ender who went to Battle School in order to be prepped to be the next army commander against an alien race. He's believed to be the next big thing and eventually the leader and savior against the looming alien attack. He left his family on Earth only to be trained toughly in space. But there's more to Ender than meets the eye.

How's my back cover synopsis? Pretty good huh? Anyway, Ender's Game is one of the best adaptations ever to be made by Hollywood. Mainly because it's not your usual love-filled YA like Twilight, Mortal Instruments, or even The Hunger Games. It's a war between good and evil, mixed with psychological games and added with zero-G games and aliens. The actors are really good, especially Asa Butterfield in his first teenage starring role. The supporting cast like Hailee Steinfeld, Harrison Ford, Viola Davis and Ben Kingsley are undeniably good. Particularly Ben Kingsley with that Oz accent, loved it. The direction by Gavin Hood is solid and the music by Transformers composer Steve Jablonsky is the ultimate cherry on top. Listen to the track The Battle Room when Petra and Ender first trained together. It's amazing. It's like this film's Arrival to Earth for Transformers. The story building up to the climax is really well done, although some were omitted much. It wouldn't hurt to add more Battle School action, add more training scenes and add more to the ending. If we could've had another 20 minutes on Ender's progress, it'd be perfect. However, I must applaud the film's decision to show it in 2D, although the Battle Room scenes alone justify the use of 3D (although this one might be a financial decision rather than creative). For me, it's one of the nicest sci-fi experiences in cinemas. It's just so good. Or is it a proof that Hollywood doesn't make more sci-fi films? Ender's Game: rated 3.5/4