Ender's Game

     On the opening night of the movie, a few friends and I arbitrarily decided to go and watch Ender's Game late at night. We got out at like 1:30 in the morning and loitered like the teenagers we are until we got kicked out, and it was fantastic. I read the book before going into the movie, so I knew what to expect plot- wise, but I had no idea how they were going to convey any of it. Overall, they did a fantastic job! I really like how they stayed as true to the book as possible when in came to little details like the floating barriers in the fighting room, or the lights on the walls that indicated where certain people had to go. They chose fantastic actors, and, even though in the book Ender started out as a Launchie at around 6-8, the guy playing him did a great job. It would have been awkward to change out so many actors with how much time passes in the novel.

The fight scene was so cool, y'all. I think it was Alex who posted a video about how they choreographed all that and it was super impressive- go check out his blog about it!

THIS NEXT PART CONTAINS SPOILERS SO DON'T READ AND GET BUTTHURT ABOUT IT BECAUSE I HAVE THIS WARNING HERE butthurt is such a fantastic word ohmygosh

     The book was super long, and they only had two hours to show the most important parts that contributed to the plot, but some of the things I think they should have added and even taken away. Ender's relationship with Petra was portrayed as romantic in the movie, when that is not at all what happened. They were comrades and nothing more; she helped train him when Bonzo was being a butt about it, and he later invited her to his toon when they made him a toon leader, but there was nothing romantic involved at all. 

     I also think they should have elaborated a bit more on the mind game, because in the book Ender spent days and days contemplating all the options for the giant and the potions, and it also would have helped build up the tension between the two people monitoring him. In addition to adding that, I think they should have mentioned that Ender actually killed the kid who bullied him at the school and Bonzo, because when he finds out later that he destroyed the entire Bugger(they gave them a different name in the movie for the sake of the seriousness of the film, but in the book the aliens are called Buggers) home planet, it contributed more to his emotional pain and turmoil (which I also think they should have elaborated more on). 

     OKAY HERE'S THE END OF THE SPOILER Y'ALL SO YOU CAN READ FROM HERE ON OUT IF YOU WANT

     All in all, though, they created a fantastic film. The actors were great, the CGI rocked, and the artistic interpretation they used was awesome. I love how accurate it was, at least to how I imagined it when I read it. If you haven't read the book, I definitely recommend you watch the movie first and then read the book, because the movie is fantastic, but then the book fills in all sorts of interesting details that expand the world. Likewise, reading the book and then seeing the movie is also awesome, though, because you have all the details to begin with and then can go and see and explore the world in the film more in depth.