Just seen Ender's Game, some fine space CGI

[iDan122]

I have to say, I was expecting Ender's game to be a "meh" film. In the end it turned out to be quite entertaining, with a good plot, a very unique twist and some very good spaceship p**!

I mean, sometimes physX where a little strange(SSTO getting not orbit in 8 seconds flat), but overall, this is the 2nd movie after Gravity where space looked very appealing, and didn't look like that cr** from Event Horizon or Armageddon, ugh.

Definitely a good watch, I would recommend seeing it!

[Dispatcher]

I expected it to be a "so-so" movie, but we enjoyed it very much. Effects were first rate.

[Brethern]

I have to say, I was expecting Ender's game to be a "meh" film. In the end it turned out to be quite entertaining, with a good plot, a very unique twist and some very good spaceship p**!

I mean, sometimes physX where a little strange(SSTO getting not orbit in 8 seconds flat), but overall, this is the 2nd movie after Gravity where space looked very appealing, and didn't look like that cr** from Event Horizon or Armageddon, ugh.

Definitely a good watch, I would recommend seeing it!

Just for the record the space program in ender's game universe has essentially the entire world giving money towards it.

[iDan122]

Just for the record the space program in ender's game universe has essentially the entire world giving money towards it.

Still though at the ascent rate of that SSTO you can't get into orbit in 7 seconds. Also, when the engines were working, it seemed as if no one inside the ship even cared there was acceleration of at least 3G, everyone was sitting as calm as ever!

[vger]

Still though at the ascent rate of that SSTO you can't get into orbit in 7 seconds. Also, when the engines were working, it seemed as if no one inside the ship even cared there was acceleration of at least 3G, everyone was sitting as calm as ever!

Lemme guess... inertial dampeners exist in this film that cause people to not feel extreme G's, but whenever a ship gets hit by something, everyone gets tossed around like ragdolls.

[FenrirWolf]

Nah, they don't have that kind of tech. The space station where most of the plot takes place is a rotating facility. Plus when things shift to a distant planet later on, they travel in a relativistic torchship and are put in stasis for the duration of the journey instead of warping on over. The launch ship switching to zero-g in like 7 seconds was just movies being movies.

[Brethern]

Nah, they don't have that kind of tech. The space station where most of the plot takes place is a rotating facility. Plus when things shift to a distant planet later on, they travel in a relativistic torchship and are put in stasis for the duration of the journey instead of warping on over. The launch ship switching to zero-g in like 7 seconds was just movies being movies.

The movie left out the important part where they do in fact have the tech to generate artificial gravity however it's kept classified. Is it really to much of a stretch to think they just might have inertial dampeners?

It's in the book.

[FenrirWolf]

The movie left out a great many things. Heck, I didn't even remember the part about artificial gravity tech. Been way too long since I read the book.

[HafCoJoe]

I love how the ships are actually semi-realistic in their engine mounts and maneuvering rockets. Great book, great movie.

[Chrisd857]

Just for the record the space program in ender's game universe has essentially the entire world giving money towards it.

I thought I remember that ostensibly the International Fleet was international, but that the United States was the only country really funding it.

[HafCoJoe]

The movie left out the important part where they do in fact have the tech to generate artificial gravity however it's kept classified. Is it really to much of a stretch to think they just might have inertial dampeners?

It's in the book.

Yeah they left out the giant time jumps between Earth and the asteroid base. In the book it took forever to get to the "command school". And it was a bugger-infested asteroid base and not a taken planet. And Ender found the egg on another world and not on the fleet command base.

But still, great movie xD.

[KOCOUR]

People who didnt read the book did you understand whats going on in the film?

Iam asking because i got impression that if i havent had read the book i would never understand whats going on in the film. Too much parts missing.

Also if they ewer make films about the rest of the books in the series, they will not make any sense because there are parts of the bok that are not in the film that are important for understanding the entire storry.

[The Destroyer]

I understood it, I didn't even remember there was a book. Good film.

[air805ronin]

Yeah they left out the giant time jumps between Earth and the asteroid base. In the book it took forever to get to the "command school". And it was a bugger-infested asteroid base and not a taken planet. And Ender found the egg on another world and not on the fleet command base.

But still, great movie xD.

The egg was on the home planet they destroyed, in the book. He communicated with the queens through that game, and they build up a representation of the fallen fairy world tower on their homeworld for him to find.

My only big complaint is the same I have with every book turned into a movie. They left out minute details I felt were super important in the book but in the long run don't amount to much in movie format. I won't even both listing them out.

That said, I felt like they time crunched the book pretty severely. Obviously they had to have the tension and the timing for a movie, but in the book I'm pretty sure his training took a year or two, not a few months.

Very pretty movie, though.

[Red Iron Crown]

The egg was on the home planet they destroyed, in the book. He communicated with the queens through that game, and they build up a representation of the fallen fairy world tower on their homeworld for him to find.

That's not quite right, because

the Bugger/Formic homeworld was reduced to monoatomic dust by the Dr. Device in the last battle.

As I recall, the egg was found on the first planet settled by humans postwar.

I found it disappointing they had to cut the entire Peter & Val take over the world subplot from the movie.

[air805ronin]

That's not quite right, because

As I recall, the egg was found on the first planet settled by humans postwar.

I found it disappointing they had to cut the entire Peter & Val take over the world subplot from the movie.

the Bugger/Formic homeworld was reduced to monoatomic dust by the Dr. Device in the last battle.

No doubt that's my fault since its been about a decade since I last read it. I mixed up the memories. I do know Ender did a tour of that world, saw the fairy tower, and went to it.

I also agree a lot about the subplot. You learn a lot about Ender when you learn more about Peter and Val. not seeing what they become while he goes on this journey takes away a lot of the story.

It also means they only give a nod to the fact he was a happy medium between Peter and Val's temperaments.

Edited May 5, 2014 by air805ronin

[draeath]

Lemme guess... inertial dampeners exist in this film that cause people to not feel extreme G's, but whenever a ship gets hit by something, everyone gets tossed around like ragdolls.

That's easy to explain away. Acceleration forces by your engine are easy to predict and are a function of, well, throttle. Impacts and such, are not. Perhaps the dampeners are not responsive enough?

[Brethern]

That's easy to explain away. Acceleration forces by your engine are easy to predict and are a function of, well, throttle. Impacts and such, are not. Perhaps the dampeners are not responsive enough?

considering the fact that they never get into space combat there's no way to know. in fact it's possible that it took longer to get into orbit than seven seconds but it would have been pointless to show.

[draeath]

considering the fact that they never get into space combat there's no way to know. in fact it's possible that it took longer to get into orbit than seven seconds but it would have been pointless to show.

Yea, it was probably intended to take a while and you generally don't follow such a whole thing in a single scene. Camera cuts etc.

It's been a real long time, but I believe it was a whole day worth of travel time in the book. We never do see the actual insides of the remote ships either, so who knows what was going on, there.

[regex]

People who didnt read the book did you understand whats going on in the film?

My wife had no problem understanding the film and she had never read the novel. I quite enjoyed the film; it was a decent adaptation all things considered (shortening for film, artistic license, cinematography, etc...) and it brought up something I had missed in earlier readings, the tragedy of child-soldiery (I suppose I was too young first time I read it).

[iDan122]

That's easy to explain away. Acceleration forces by your engine are easy to predict and are a function of, well, throttle. Impacts and such, are not. Perhaps the dampeners are not responsive enough?

Hold on guys, without accelerating to get into orbit, the ship would never get into orbit, right?

I am asking how come when the ship accelerates they don't fly like rag dolls? And don't tell me "inertial dampeners" (whatever that is). If you thrust to your right, and you want to remove inertia inside, you have to thrust left, thus your translation maneuver made no sense and wasted fuel.

[Red Iron Crown]

My wife had no problem understanding the film and she had never read the novel. I quite enjoyed the film; it was a decent adaptation all things considered (shortening for film, artistic license, cinematography, etc...) and it brought up something I had missed in earlier readings, the tragedy of child-soldiery (I suppose I was too young first time I read it).

You should consider rereading it, this is one of those books that means one thing to young adults reading it and another to adults. Graff was a far more compelling character when I reread it as an adult.

Orson Scott Card is a great author, it's too bad he's such a jerk in real life.

[iDan122]

That's easy to explain away. Acceleration forces by your engine are easy to predict and are a function of, well, throttle. Impacts and such, are not. Perhaps the dampeners are not responsive enough?

If an asteroid hits you with vector a , the ship needs to thrust towards vector -a, but in the process the hull pierces the asteroid even harder

Please stop with this "inertial dampener" nonsense, it makes no sense at all....

[Red Iron Crown]

Please stop with this "inertial dampener" nonsense, it makes no sense at all....

That's kinda how some sci-fi works, hand-waving to eliminate inconvenient real world effects.

[Brethern]

Hold on guys, without accelerating to get into orbit, the ship would never get into orbit, right?

I am asking how come when the ship accelerates they don't fly like rag dolls? And don't tell me "inertial dampeners" (whatever that is). If you thrust to your right, and you want to remove inertia inside, you have to thrust left, thus your translation maneuver made no sense and wasted fuel.

So you're perfectly fine with accepting the fact that earth was invaded twice by space ants, but inertial dampeners are unbelievable?