I have to say, this movie pleasantly surprised me, since I never read the book, written by Orson Scott Card, that the film is based on.
That might have something to do with the fact, that I’m not a 12 year old teenage boy or girl. Apparently the book and its sequels sold zillions of copies.
So for those of you, who don’t know what ‘Ender’s Game is about…Here you go…
There are these super nasty aliens, known as the Formics, that have attacked Earth. I’d probably be nasty as well if I looked like them. Unless you find humongous insects with lots of arms your idea of beauty, you won’t be wanting to take these guys home to your mother any time soon.
If it wasn’t for the legendary heroics of International Fleet Commander, Mazer Rackham (Ben Kingsley) the Formics would have destroyed the planet and all us humans in a blink of an eye.
But, that’s not what happened. We did major damaged to these creatures and they haven’t been heard from in over 50 years. But that means nothing to the men in charge. They believe that any day these creatures will come back and finish the job, so we must be prepared.
Prepared to finish the job…aka…Destroy every single one of these ugly bugs, so they’ll never again come knocking at our door.
In order to achieve this, The International Military led by Colonel Hyrum Graff (the very stern looking Harrison Ford) are training the best and the brightest guys and girls to find another ‘Mazer’. And I should mention, that the best and the brightest, are all teenagers. Seems grownups aren’t that good at killing…Could have surprised me… So it looks like the saviors of humanity, are kids who never even frenched…
Unfortunately, Graff hasn’t found anyone who he believes could destroy the Formic…That is until he meets…
Ender Wiggin (Asa Butterfield) a shy, but strategically brilliant 12 year old, whose brother and sister both flunked out of the program.
Graff sees something special in Ender and he’s brought into Battle School to begin his training.
Watching Ender quickly and easily master the increasingly difficult challenges and simulations that come up, as well as seeing him deal with the other kids at the school, is what kept my attention.
Butterfield is an intense actor and commands the screen. He definitely holds his own against Ford.
The rest of the cast, including Abigal Breslin as Ender’s sister are all quite good.
The visuals are great, and the finale has a really good twist.
For that reason, I gave ‘Ender’s Game’ written and directed by Gavin Hood, 4 bagels out of 5 and John came pretty close with his score.
The film opens in theatres Friday, November 1, 2013 and it’s definitely a fun ride.
Check out our video for more of our thoughts.
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