Escape to the Movies: Ender's Game
- Thread starter MovieBob
- Start date
So it ain't great, but it ain't terrible, and Moviebob's upset they didn't do more than adapt it fairly accurately and the big twist isn't handled too well.
Fine by me. I'm in it for the tactics. That's why I loved the book.
Fine by me. I'm in it for the tactics. That's why I loved the book.
Why is Bob upset about it being November? Is he upset that he doesn't get to talk about Halloween anymore? Lacking any enthusiasm for the new next-gen entries (which is where I'm at with them)?
So it sounds like I'm going to completely adore this movie.
I've always felt that since the twist is one of the most well known in fiction, right up there with The Sixth Sense, the best way to play it would be to make it a surprise for Ender, but not the audience.
And I'm rather happy they got rid of the Earth stuff. His cartoonishly evil brother taking over the world via internet forums was completely silly in the book and it would have been silly on film.
I'm also glad they did away with the majority of the whining after the victory. The dirty xeno insect scum deserved every shot fired and if some humans were lost, so be it. After all, the only good bug is a dead bug.
I've always felt that since the twist is one of the most well known in fiction, right up there with The Sixth Sense, the best way to play it would be to make it a surprise for Ender, but not the audience.
And I'm rather happy they got rid of the Earth stuff. His cartoonishly evil brother taking over the world via internet forums was completely silly in the book and it would have been silly on film.
I'm also glad they did away with the majority of the whining after the victory. The dirty xeno insect scum deserved every shot fired and if some humans were lost, so be it. After all, the only good bug is a dead bug.
I knew Bob was going to touch on (well, bludgeon would probably be a better word) the big "controversy" surrounding the movie, but at the very least I didn't think he'd stoop so low for his political leanings. Because what I took away from this was: Roman Polanski raped a teenage girl, and that's bad...a bit. So it's okay to like his movies! But Orson Scott Card isn't overly fond of gay people (but hasn't physically hurt anyone, just their feelings), and that's horrible. So let's all boycott his movie and shoot it down when any piece of drivel who's creator agreed with Bob would get a free pass, or at the very least a very light panning. While I didn't really care about seeing the movie and never read the books, I think now is the time to give Bob and all those like him a little poke in the eye. Amazon.com here I come, and tomorrow night I'm bringing friends.
Then you'll be disappointed. "The enemy's gate is down" development happens in kind of a throw away moment during training and in a throwaway callback at Command School. The "let's do a formation" moment is wasted because they don't show any of the progression of Dragon army nor go through how groundbreaking Ender's innovations are. They demonstrate some tactics at Command school, but in mediocre ways. The first is giving the Formics a Khan-like weakness, second is a brief mention of the effect on gravity wells on 0g maneuvers, and the third is the utilization of hyperbolic cones as a three-dimensional wedge formation.... which people may miss if they haven't thought about space combat or read the book.Chessrook44 said:
So wait, they got rid of the whole 'invented personalities pushing politics to the extreme for attention and gain, poisoning the well of public discourse' plot line?
You know, the one that's extremely relevant right now?
I guess they needed more time for CGI wanking.
You know, the one that's extremely relevant right now?
I guess they needed more time for CGI wanking.
I wasn't surprised they got rid of that. It wouldn't be easy to do, even with the aged up actors they already permitted themselves. Having seen the movie, of course they skipped those scenes. They skipped Rat army entirely and most of Salamander and Dragon.MCerberus said:
"Oh. November. Goodie"
Words never rang so true. I know this is an aside and I apologize for the indulgence. But I swear to anyone reading this, our Halloween merriment of last night was barely complete before I started seeing Christmas ads on some of the channels I watched as I tried to shake off last night's sugar high.
It was depressing to see Santa sticking his fat ass so far into the year. I know the economy in the US is still busted and retailers and content providers alike are desperate for a big push this year. I get it. But come on man. At least let the Milky Way caramel dissolve completely from my now rotting teeth before pushing "Holiday Cheer" in my face so blatantly.
Words never rang so true. I know this is an aside and I apologize for the indulgence. But I swear to anyone reading this, our Halloween merriment of last night was barely complete before I started seeing Christmas ads on some of the channels I watched as I tried to shake off last night's sugar high.
It was depressing to see Santa sticking his fat ass so far into the year. I know the economy in the US is still busted and retailers and content providers alike are desperate for a big push this year. I get it. But come on man. At least let the Milky Way caramel dissolve completely from my now rotting teeth before pushing "Holiday Cheer" in my face so blatantly.
When the book came out it MIGHT have seemed potentially feasible (You know, like how an AI going crazy and nearly starting nuclear war because it didn't know the difference between reality and a simulation, only to be defeated by making it play Tic Tac Toe with itself was potentially feasible back then) but now? Do you REALLY think such a thing is ANYWHERE in the realm of possibility?MCerberus said:
Plus, it WAS kind of a side story. Ender was the main story.
I think because it's the start of the awards season, which means a lot of art-house movies and other Oscar-bait, instead of movies being made because people wanted to make those movies.Arslan Aladeen said:
OT: I felt a little off when I saw the battle scenes in the commercials. In the book, Ender plays a super-realistic RPG-style game in his "off time" (spoiler: It's another psychological analysis and manipulation tool), but the starship "training game" is just points of light moving around a 3D display.
Surprising Ender but not the audience could have been great; you still get the big fancy spectacle battles, then cut to Ender playing what he obviously thinks of as a game, because it looks nothing like the real thing.Sir Thomas Sean Connery said:
Also, I'm not sure if you're being sarcastic (or if there's an Inquisitor standing behind you) with your last point. The whole closing of the book was Ender realising that the buggers didn't understand humans when they first invaded, and that they stopped once they understood they were destroying individuals rather than parts of a hive. Humans, meanwhile, were determined to win the war at all costs, up to and including genocide and child soldiers, although in reality there was no more need for any fighting. The miscommunication is the whole key of the twist ending.
Well, waiting for X: Rebirth and playing X³ as a fighter (i'm so bad, i have my own ammo and torpedo factory). The scenes look like such a game on a high-end PC with maybe texture and mesh-mods to push detail. I mean it is the future, this level of "graphics" could be normal for their games.
As someone who loved the book and thoroughly enjoyed the movie, I do pretty much have to agree with Bob on the simulation looking too real. However I thought all that was pretty obvious from the trailers, which gave the impression it was a real battle anyway. It was just disappointed there wasn't more. The film could have stood to be a good 30 minutes longer and I'm hoping for a director's cut that expands on what's there.
Didn't he also say that he would fight to violently overthrow the government if gay marriage became legal in the States (you know, until it actually happened)?HardkorSB said: