This long-simmering adaptation of an award winning sci-fi classic stays loyal to its source material, but loses a ton of emotion in the translation. Its version of a future Earth, one generation removed from near-extinction at the hands of an invading alien fleet, isn't a particularly romantic one, but that doesn't mean it has to be this joyless. Everything's so dry and analytical, every plot point over-explained and talked to death, while the book's most exciting chapters are merely skimmed.

Where we get them, the special effects come through exceptionally well. The game room, where the planet's unified military force trains its cadets for interstellar combat, doesn't look exactly like I'd imagined, but still makes for a rich scene or two. Space launches have immense power and impact. Zero gravity fight scenes play out in unique ways. There's an awful lot of untapped potential here; ideas and concepts that are properly explored in the novel, merely served as a garnish and tossed aside.

And maybe a focus on the human element could have been the right call, given the right cast to really dig in; a good script to touch on the more delicate metaphors; a capable director to pull everything together. Three strikes in that regard. With a stiff, off-putting young Asa Butterfield in the leading role, plus a disengaged Harrison Ford and a barely-there Ben Kingsley as support, nobody seems interested in picking up the ball for a run at the goal line. It's an uncertain film, one that never completely settles on an identity, and it honestly isn't much fun to watch. A missed opportunity.