Ender's Game: Extended Edition

This is LONG overdue. I've been working through a backlog since like many of us, I have nothing but time while we hunker down.

There should be a fanedit category "Polishing a turd", for faneditors who take weak source material and do their level best to make it enjoyable. I was so disappointed in the theatrical release of this film. There was so much material from the books that just didn't appear. It made the film feel very disjointed, at least to me.

This extended edition goes as far as it possibly can to fix the problems in the theatrical release. The end result is...fuller. Definitely more enjoyable, less disjointed and closer to the book in a lot of ways. The edits are technically very well done. This will be the version I continue to watch.

Thank you for a fine effort on a flawed film.

A fantastic Extended Edition of an underrated film. 95% of the negative reviews of the movie I've read are from disgruntled fans of the book. While I can sympathize with feeling something is a poor adaptation of a thing you loved (DCEU, I'm looking at you), it doesn't mean this is a bad movie in its own right. I always wait to read the book until after the film (if I haven't already read it) so that I can enjoy both...and enjoy this I did! I won't waste more time talking about the film here though. (If you're interested, here's my review: https://letterboxd.com/nottheacademy/film/enders-game/)

As far as this edit, it's everything you could want. The extended scenes are all GOOD. They're mostly nothing big, just adding a bit more depth to the character's thoughts and feelings, but with a cast this good they're a pleasure to watch. There's no drop in quality, and all the audio and video are connected seamlessly. My one complaint is that a deleted scene was trimmed here, supposedly due to unfinished effects. I've seen it elsewhere though and I thought it was fine, maybe just needed a filter or bit of cropping. It helps explain where Ender is when his sister comes to talk to him, and why he's dressed like that. But it's honestly a minor quibble.

Overall, this film is a great watch for anyone looking for a very solid sci-fi movie. It's several cuts above other YA franchises like Hunger Games, Twilight, Percy Jackson, etc. That they all got sequels while this one didn't is a tragedy. Thanks for the great edit, at least!

I first saw this film in the theater (never read the book). I liked the movie enough to purchase it on DVD when it was released.

This fanedit adds about 7 minutes to the runtime and the scenes are flawlessly restored and seamless.

If you enjoy the film, as I do, then you will definitely want this version.

Many people believe (as I do) that the Hobbit films were a one- to two-film story stretched out into three. This film is the opposite: a two-film story that was squashed into one. Any issues this fanedit may suffer are entirely due to that - the editor only had so much to work with - and its attempt to restore the deleted scenes as far as possible to extend and flesh out the storyline makes it a major improvement on the original. Highly recommend this as the definitive version of Ender's Game for any true fan.