Ender's Game - Bluray Review

Hello guys! So today, I'll be reviewing the Blu-Ray copy of Ender's Game, which is directed by Gavin Hood (cough cough...Gavin) and stars: Harrison Ford, Asa Butterfield, Hailee Steinfeld, Viola Davis, Abigail Breslin and Ben Kingsley. This is my first time reviewing a Blu-Ray on my blog and I must say that I was surprised to see Asa Butterfield and Ben Kingsley working again on their second feature together; their first feature was Hugo and I definitely loved the film. 
Without further ado, let's get on with the review! 
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Disclaimer: The screenshot below are captured using the DVD copy and not the original Blu-Ray copy. They do not show 1080p resolution.                                                                                                                                                                                                                

THE FILM:
I remember reading Ender's Game while the film was in post-production and oh boy! I had a good time reading; not because I like books, but because it was such an interesting read and quite an adventure! For the film, I could spot differences here and there, but I definitely enjoyed it as much as I did with the book. 

Ender's Game is based off of the novel by Orson Scott Card and the whole movie is evolving around a young boy's POV, Ender Wiggin (Butterfield), who is reluctantly being pulled into battle school, that happens to be up in space and the reason for that is, Ender Wiggin isn't just a normal boy. He is intelligent/strategic and has a brilliant mind, who could possibly become the savior of humanity from these aliens called, Formics.
From there, he is separated from his family and embarks on a journey in learning off war games and proving what's he worth in an epic battle that will determine the future of Earth and save the human race.
Butterfield and the rest of the cast did an outstanding job with the film; Gavin Hood brilliantly delivered Ender's world from page onto the big screen. Asa Butterfield exceeded my expectations when he played the role for Ender Wiggin. He brought Ender to life with confidence and courage as well as, giving somewhat, a light and dark side to the character's personality. With some astounding angles and shots and well-acted, the story has its ups and downs but overall, an enjoyable experience. The production design of Ender's Game is well put and immersive, and the visual/digital effects are beautifully and detailed. The film itself isn't boring, but rather entertaining and making the audience wanting to crave for more. Ender's Game has honestly hooked me from the book and now, the movie. 


THE VIDEO:
While reviewing the video quality of the film, I'm currently using my Sony 1080p LED TV (Which I'll be using for when I review all of my Blu-Rays) and it's not big enough to see the detail of the video. I've chosen the option of displaying it in 1080p (not to be mistaken with 1080i) and the quality are slowly beginning to show, but will have to do.

The Blu-Ray transfer from Summit Entertainment is just beautiful! Digitally shot with Epic Red cameras, up-close shots reveal clear detail of the facial appeal, the texture of the video goes from sharp to clear, and the props/costumes are exceptional. The visual effects however, are spectacular and detailed in ways that seem real. The amount of colors throughout the film are scattered in scenes, which are all good in HD and some are a little desaturated with the colors of blue and grey (which are mostly in space sequences). Summit did go out of the box with their Blu-Ray quality on Ender's Game, with their extreme clarity and depth of wide shots throughout the film, and the sharpness of black levels, which is a good thing since some scenes are filmed rather in dark places. Blu-Ray fans will definitely be pleased with the quality. 

THE AUDIO:
The only audio option on the Blu-Ray disc supports 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and 2.0 Late Night Listening. The Bose Sound System I have, only supports 5.1, so the review for the audio quality may differ from other reviews.

7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack does an impressive job, in which it wraps around you and immerses you into the world; all channels are perfectly synced, with clear dialogue coming out from the center speaker and the sound effects coming out from all directions. The sound design brought Steve Jablonsky's film score to sound so good, it's epic. The sound effects used in the film spout out everywhere, in certain scenes, from corner left and right to the upper left and right. The clarity of the audio is impressive during scenes where bass is included and the dialogue is clearer when actions sequences appear. Direction in audio matters when someone is shooting a gun or fire-bomb explosions are spouting out from the ground in certain places; they display where the impact is happening and for Ender's Game, they absolutely did an awesome job with the audio. I experienced no issues with the Master Audio, that includes any drop-outs or Again, it makes you feel immersed into the world and if you are one who cares about audio on Blu-Ray, this is a must-recommend for you!

PACKAGING, LOOK INSIDE & SPECIAL FEATURES:
Here is the packaging of Ender's Game: (I apologize for the overlapping of the picture/banner)

Ender's Game is a two-disc combo pack that includes a Blu-Ray copy, a DVD copy and an Ultraviolet copy  for when you are on the go. The combo pack is delivered in a glossy slipcover with the...ugh artwork in the front. To be honest, I didn't really like the front artwork, it seems that it was all collided into a huge mess and uninspiring. Moving that aside, the spine of the slipcover features two male actors playing as their characters in the film, Harrison Ford and Ben Kingsley. One side has the face of Ford while the other, Kingsley. I like the idea of having two sides completely different, instead of the same, old repeated spine on each side. On the back of the slipcover, it details the synopsis of the film, as well as the bonus features, specifications, the Digital HD banner, and a couple of stills from the film. 

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The combo pack includes these informative and enjoyable extras:

• Ender's World: The Making of Ender's Game (8-part documentary/HD) 
• Deleted/Extended Scenes (HD) - Scenes that weren't able to make the cut; to those who are die-hard Ender fans, this is definitely for you.
• Inside the Mind Games (HD)
• Theatrical Trailers (HD) - Trailer 1 and Trailer 2. 
• Audio Commentary with Director Gavin Hood
• Audio Commentary with Producers Gigi Pritzker and Roberto Orci

When you plug the Blu-Ray disc into the player, there are these two awesome Battle School menus for the Copyright/Warning. I've provided screenshots below, so go ahead and check them out! It feels like your immersed into Ender's world.

I congratulate Summit for having to take their time into making this! It's definitely better than the Canadian release (Canada, sorry...sometimes, the Canadian release doesn't even include these kinds of stuff on their Blu-Rays, which is also another reason why I gotten the US version)

The Blu-Ray menu is nicely animated with seamless pre-menus and a surprise within the Blu-Ray that most people don't know about; an Easter Egg! Scroll down for more info.

EASTER EGG:
This is where all the goodies come from. Normally, viewers/buyers don't often find out that their own Blu-Ray copy has something hidden and waiting for them to uncover. Till this day, there are thousands of people trying to uncover and inspect for Easter Eggs, within the film and the Blu-Ray. To those who own Ender's Game on Blu-Ray, Gavin Hood has in store, not one but two featurettes (according to TechnologyTell) hidden deep inside the main menu. This is only exclusive to the Blu-Ray, and not the DVD. 
Of course, I'll provide pictures below:

This is the main menu, and pretty much, it looks like a normal Blu-Ray menu!

According from TechnologyTell's source, "From the main menu, hit the Blue key on your Blu-Ray remote, this will bring you into a secret menu to input the code. All colors correspond to remote buttons."

This is where the fun begins! If you notice on the top of the menu, across the words ENDER'S_GAME and the Dragon Army stats and logo, you'll see a blue rectangle with the words, Archive, beside it.

Click the blue rectangle on your remote and you'll be brought to a secret menu, where you are prompt to input the code.

The secret menu to the Easter Egg.

From there, you are met with I.F. Surveillance Archive and a spectral passcode to unlock the surprise. The question raises with curiousity, where can I get the passcode? It's simple! On the main menu, while the animated background plays, you'll see these circles on the side:

Follow the sequence of colors that appear! Pssshhh, you'll need to write this down or at least, keep track of the code. After that enter the sequence into the spectral passcode and there goes Part 1 of the Easter Egg! After you are done watching the surprise, you'll notice the word change from Descending to Acsending. Do the same sequence, only backwards!

FINAL THOUGHTS:

Ender's Game is not only intelligent but an entertaining family action film! Asa Butterfield really stepped up his acting career and into Ender's shoes, to create this magnificent science-fiction world that could possibly question our own. It took almost 30 years in the making for an adaptation of Orson Card Scott's dystopian novel, before the opportunity was held to Gavin Hood to screen-write and direct. It's sad to say that the film didn't do well at the box office, because I was really looking forward to the sequel. The stunning video and immersive audio are both an A+ for Summit Entertainment as well, the special features are also a plus. Ender's Game is Recommended.