At one point in “Ender’s Game” Harrison Ford tells young protagonist Ender (played by “Hugo”‘s Asa Butterfield), “You will be remembered as a hero.” Well, I will remember this movie, about a teenage boy recruited to lead a military force in a battle against evil aliens, as one of the biggest wastes of time at the movies in 2013.
Here are four crucial mistakes made by director/screenwriter Gavin Hood (“X-Men Origins: Wolverine”):
1) Going with this story. If you want to make an interesting, contemporary science fiction film you can’t base it on a story that was written and published nearly 30 years ago. The concept is so paper thin it’s no wonder the movie plays out like a chapter book. I know author Orson Scott Card’s series is still going, and this plot had potential, but Hood needed to amp-up his adaptation to make it worthy of a contemporary audience.
2) How to Win a War Using as Many Words as Possible. Practically every scene features a preachy, overly-dramatic exchange of dialogue, highlighted by several scenes between Ford’s Colonel Graff and Major Anderson (played by Viola Davis). Sir Ben Kingsley, who plays a former war hero, tries hard not to laugh during his scenes (face tattoo and all). It’s unfortunate that three of Hollywood’s brightest young actors – Butterfield, Hailee Steinfeld (“True Grit”) and Abigail Breslin (“Little Miss Sunshine”) had to deal with this mess of a script.
The entire cast is forced to go completely over-the-top in their performances in an attempt to create tension, which is non-existent anywhere else.
3) “And…Action?” Having not read the book I was expecting “Ender’s Game” to be an action-packed space adventure. Instead, it’s a psychological soap opera. I tried very hard to care about Ender and his situation. But he’s simply portrayed as a character in a video game – literally (at times) and figuratively. Most of “Ender’s Game” centers on Ender’s training to take over as the next military leader. Not exactly edge-of-your seat stuff. The only “action” is made-up of high-tech simulations and zero gravity laser tag. I imagine Ford must have had flashbacks to his “Star Wars” days, thinking how much better he and George Lucas did this stuff – 35 years ago.
4) The final five minutes. With all it’s problems, “Ender’s Game” would have been passable, if not for the final five minutes, which qualifies as one of the worst endings of any film in recent memory. Even if this was part of the book Hood should have stopped this ship when there was still a chance to avoid disaster.
Plus, there are awkward scenes involving Ender and his older sister (Breslin), loads of bullying (a topic which should have been handled better considering how important it is today), and loads of close-ups of Butterfield tearing-up. Believe me, I could feel his pain.
Admittedly, “Ender’s Game” does look great. The creative team behind the film did it’s job. That, and enjoying Ford’s gruff voice and stone face, are the only things that helped me survive this lifeless mission. I just couldn’t wait to hear the words “Game Over” – and believe it or not, they are actually said at the end of the film.
On The Official LCJ Report Card, “Ender’s Game” gets a D+.