Written and directed by Gavin Hood, Ender's Game is a surprisingly faithful adaptation of Orson Scott Card's science fiction classic, considering Card's book is all but inadaptable. There are sacrifices—the kids have been aged up, the violence has been toned down, and a plot involving Ender's siblings has been cut—but Hood dutifully manages the basics: Here's Ender, getting beat up; here's Ender, winning some cool zero-gravity battles; here's Ender, a child tasked with saving Earth. But dutifully managing isn't enough when the source material is this good. Ender's Game crams so much into so little time that none of it has any consequence. Alas, Card's book is about consequences. It's also a book that's profoundly, unforgettably sad—and sorrow is one emotion that Ender's Game: The Movie never conveys. by Erik Henriksen