By Sara Pintilie/entertainment editor

The Kite Runner (4 stars)

The Kite Runner might not be as powerful as its novel counterpart, but it is still an affecting story worthy of the silver screen.

Amir (Zekeria Ebrahimi) was born of privilege in Afganistan, but he always feels his father, Baba (Homayoun Ershadi), favored the servant’s son, Hassan (Ahmad Khan Mahmidzada).

Hassan and Amir are close friends, despite their social classes, and Hassan would do anything for Amir.

But after Amir witnesses Hassan falling victim to bullies of the worst kind and does nothing, their friendship loses its strong bond.

Years later, Amir, now a successful writer living in San Fransico, gets a phone call from a family friend with a chance to redeem himself.

The best-selling novel by Khaled Hosseini is a gorgeous character study of Amir, and the movie does a great job of translating it.

However, the film, of course, skips over the majority of the novel, just touching on the juicy parts.

But what the flick skims over gives the story depth.

The moviegoers don’t get to witness Baba’s anguish of transitioning from wealthy Afghan to gas station worker in America.

The viewers don’t get to truly understand how much Amir’s inaction haunts him.

After reading the novel, the film just has much to desire.

But the movie, on its own, is a strongly written drama with great performances and sweepingly gorgeous cinematography.

The viewers are attached to these characters from the get-go, and become more immersed in their storylines as the movie progresses.

Director Marc Foster (Finding Neverland, Stranger than Fiction) did a great job keeping the script genuine but complex as in the novel—just not as in depth.

The movie is something worth renting if one never wants to read the novel or already has.

But as a substitute for reading the intoxicatingly rich novel, the film is below par.

The audience will not experience the full realm of Amir’s atonement without reading The Kite Runner.

Overall, The Kite Runner is a good film, a decent adaptation, but lacks the entire essence found in the Hosseini’s novel.