Ender's Game – Das große Spiel (2013)

Ender’s Game – Das große Spiel: Directed by Gavin Hood. With Asa Butterfield, Harrison Ford, Hailee Steinfeld, Abigail Breslin. Young Ender Wiggin is recruited by the International Military to lead the fight against the Formics, an insectoid alien race who had previously tried to invade Earth and had inflicted heavy losses on humankind.

“As a fan of the book, I really wasnu0026#39;t sure I wanted to see this movie. Great books hardly ever adapt into good films. But my friend wanted to see it, so I agreed to tag along on opening night. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eI have to say, as a movie, it is genuinely enjoyable. The visuals are starkly entrancing without being distracting. The casting is pitch-perfect – Harrison Ford and Asa Butterfield, in particular, do a great job. The ending is particularly well done (donu0026#39;t worry – it wasnu0026#39;t really spoiled by the trailer). u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe problem is, itu0026#39;s really just a caricature of the book. The drama in Battle School moves too quickly, the characters of Peter and Valentine are almost completely absent, and even Enderu0026#39;s video game is sadly underdone. Iu0026#39;m not usually a fan of splitting books into multiple movies, but this is one where two films would have done it justice. Also, the kids are just too old – thereu0026#39;s an ironic moment in the movie where two officers talk about how conscripting kids under 15 u0026quot;used to be illegalu0026quot;, yet all the actors playing the kids look 15 or older!u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eStill, itu0026#39;s a fun ride, and if you hadnu0026#39;t read the book these flaws really wouldnu0026#39;t be apparent. Definitely see it in the theater if you can – the battle room scenes are best on a big screen.”