10/07/2013
Ender Gets an Army in First Clip from 'Ender's Game'
As with any adaptation of a beloved classic, longtime fans are going to have concerns about what may get changed for the big screen. The concern with Ender's Game, which I expressed yesterday on the Next Issue Podcast, is that the bulk of the footage we've seen has focused solely on the technical aspects and the alien invasion piece of the storyline. Those who have read Orson Scott Card's novel know there is a much headier element of the story, and fortunately the first official clip gives us our best taste of it yet.
Asa Butterfield is Ender Wiggin, a kid plucked from his life on Earth and enrolled in Battle School where he and others like him will train to defend humanity from an inevitable alien threat. But Ender isn't like the other students; he's exceptionally bright and gifted, specializing in battle tactics and strategy, skills that make him wildly unpopular with his peers. Harrison Ford is Commander Graff, who has no problem manipulating events to make life as rough as possible for Ender in order to make him a more hardened battlefield leader. In this clip we see Graff offering to give Ender his own unit, Dragon Army, since it's obvious he can't function under the command of another. There's some clever, dry wit here that hopefully carries over to the rest of the film, and the scene gives a solid impression of the dynamic between Graff and Ender.
Directed by Gavin Hood and starring Ben Kingsley, Hailee Steinfeld, Abigail Breslin, Viola Davis, and Moises Arias, Ender's Game opens in IMAX on November 1st. Enjoy the new poster, as well.
Ender's Game "Ender's Army" Clip by FanReviews