Upon learning that a favorite book will be adapted into a movie, many people are filled with both excitement and trepidation. This was certainly the case for fans of beloved sci-fi novel Ender's Game. Eager to watch Orson Scott Card's space-set saga on the big screen, many nonetheless worried that Hollywood would not do justice to the childhood classic.

The book, which follows a young boy trained to defend humankind from an alien invasion, won the 1985 Nebula Award and the 1986 Hugo Award for best novel, two of the most prestigious honors in science fiction writing. Many readers came to the novel as adolescents, around the same age as the main characters of the story. The inward struggle of gifted protagonist Ender between his natural empathy and forced cruelty left a strong impression on many young readers.

After underperforming at the US box office, the film Ender's Game hit Chinese cinemas on January 7. The story is set in the future 50 years after Earth is invaded by an ant-like alien species called the Formics. The first invasion was halted by Mazer Rackham (Ben Kingsley), a commander of a small reserve patrol force, who was later lauded as the legendary savior of the human race.

Ender Wiggin

Fifty years later, young Ender Wiggin (pictured top) (Asa Butterfield of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas) is chosen by Colonel Hyrum Graff (Harrison Ford) from the International Fleet to be trained in Battle School. After Ender defends himself against bully twice his size, Graff is convinced that Ender is destined to become the future commander who will lead the entire fleet in the final war against the Fomics. In Battle School, Ender is trained with children like him and is quickly promoted because of his extraordinary aptitude for military strategy.

Later on, Graff takes Ender to a command base established by the International Fleet in a former Formic colony. There Ender meets Mazer Rackham, who trains him with simulation war games against the Formics. On his so-called Graduation Day, Ender is given a final test, which, if he passes, will make him commander of the whole fleet.

Ender's Game is directed by South African filmmaker Gavin Hood, whose film Tsotsi won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film in 2005. The film is well adapted and remains loyal to the book. For readers of the original book, the film's spectacular visual effects in the dazzling battle scenes in zero-gravity space help to fill in the gaps of a reader's imagination and justify the story's cinematic retelling. 

Ender Wiggin (Asa Butterfield) with Colonel Hyrum Graff (Harrison Ford) Photos: CFP

One of the key factors that contributes to the success of this film is the teenage star Butterfield playing Ender Wiggin. He projects a maturity and calmness that belies his age. The story is not a clichéd salvation narrative in which a gifted chosen hero saves the world. Instead it focuses on Ender's inner conflict between a natural aptitude for both compassion, embodied in his beloved sister Valentine, and ruthlessness, which is reflected in his brother Peter. Ender's combination of these two impulses is what makes him a compelling protagonist. As he progresses further in his military training, Ender's empathy drives him to develop sympathy for his enemies. When the film comes to an end, the story of Ender's growth and self-redemption has just begun.

Indeed, Ender's Game is first of Card's series of novels. The sequels, Speaker for the Dead, Xenocide, Children of the Mind and Ender in Exile, follow Ender's subsequent travels to many different worlds in the galaxy. Ender's Game is the beginning of a more profound adventure where man starts to ponder his relationship with other species in the universe.

A poster for Ender's Game Photo: CFP

Everyone's a critic

Danny Fei

27, Canadian

"Ender's Game is not a perfect film. It rushes through certain important points, and leaves out other parts altogether, instead what you get is a flawed but enjoyable movie that ultimately succeeds, because it always keeps its goal in sight."

Ruan Ming

23, Chinese

"Ender's Game was much better than I expected. The design and production values are excellent and I especially liked the animated sequences where Ender enters the computer game crafted uniquely for him. Asa Butterfield is a good enough actor to convey this without resorting to over-acting."

Jenny Du

21, Chinese

"I was absolutely looking forward to this film, while expecting a disappointment at the same time. But the filmmakers got a lot of it right. They largely kept the violence of Ender's self-defense acts (though it should have been messier). Asa Butterfield (while of course much too old and tall) got Ender just right, with a restrained but nonetheless powerful performance."