SYNOPSIS: In the near future, a hostile alien race called the Formics have attacked Earth. If not for the legendary heroics of International Fleet Commander Mazer Rackham (Ben Kingsley), all would have been lost. In preparation for the next attack, the highly esteemed Colonel Hyrum Graff (Harrison Ford) and the International Military are training only the best young minds to find the future Mazer.

Ender Wiggin (Asa Butterfield), a shy but strategically brilliant boy, is recruited to join the elite. Arriving at Battle School, Ender quickly and easily masters increasingly difficult challenges and simulations, distinguishing himself and winning respect amongst his peers. Ender is soon ordained by Graff as the military’s next great hope, resulting in his promotion to Command School. Once there, he’s trained by Mazer Rackham himself to lead his fellow soldiers into an epic battle that will determine the future of Earth and save the human race.

REVIEW: Novelist Orson Scott Card wrote Ender’s Game, a rich and complex sci-fi novel on which this flick is based. By all accounts, it too, like the screen play preaches utter compassion for all beings, whether human or not, while simultaneously acting as an intense sci-fi action saga. One that effectively challenges Hollywood’s well known long-standing assertion that anti-war stories are impossible to tell in the cinematic medium.

At face value, it presents an electrifying Starship Troopers (1997) type of scenario where that rare case of an epic space battle transpires entirely within the span of two hours, while at the same time managing to deliver a higher educational message about tolerance, empathy and coping under pressure. Nevertheless, it’s simply a sci-fi film that is both thought-provoking and action-filled. It probably won’t take title for being one of the best sci-fi films of the year, but it does have very unique attributes that are bound to appeal to the average geek/gamer out there. This then could possibly transcend this flick in to cult status. 

Enders Game is as much a prolific look in to the social effects on the future of warfare, as it is an entertaining sci-fi adventure. It literally gives us a peek in to what the future can possibly hold, in terms of futuristic combat and how it relates to the gaming industry and our youth. It’s a beautiful production, strikingly designed, impressively performed and adapted into one of the coolest big screen science fiction tales this year. It has valid points to make, and advocates serious discussion far beyond whatever issues audience members may have with the military industry taking aim at youngsters with a knack for gaming. 

As a film critic, one has certain responsibilities: to discuss a film as impartially as possible on its own merits, and also to help interested readers decide how to spend their hard-earned money. Having said that, I won’t expect this movie to have a heavy appeal to anyone above the age of twenty-five; hence, negatively impacting its box-office standings. Needless to say, Sci-Fi buffs, would be interested to know that this is a movie worth viewing in theaters. Others would be better off waiting for the DVD or pay-per-view release. It deserves three and a half stars out of five for creativity and subject matter approach

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