Movie Review: Enders Game Rating: A+ I had the rare opportunity to view probably one of the best films I have ever seen yesterday. This film falls under the category of some of the finest out there such as E.T. the Extra Terrestrial (1982), Titanic (1997), Star Wars (1977), and even Gone With the Wind (1939). The film in question is Gavin Hoods (X-Men Origins: The Wolverine, Rendition) newest SciFi drama, Enders Game. The film is based on the book with the same title by Orson Scott Card. The film stars Asa Butterfield (The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, Hugo), Harrison Ford (Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Star Wars Epidode IV: A New Hope), and Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit, Shes a Fox). The story is set about two or three hundred years from now. Earth and its population are fading fast as a recent alien attack has nearly wiped us out. The government is training or programming teenage boys in combat and strategy in hopes of finding one that can lead the world to destroying the alien race that nearly killed the humans of Earth. We meet Ender Wiggin (Butterfield), a very smart young man that has problems making friends. Despite the countless bullying that Ender endures, he begins to be noticed by members of the military and is soon pulled out of the training program and sent to a boot-camp located in a space station in outer space. It isnt long before Ender is moved further and further up and is soon training to be the commander of Earths fleet to battle the aliens. The film is EXTREMELY well written. The impact of all the changes that go on through Enders life are felt by the audience as well as the intense action and battle sequences. The film is full of What-If questions that makes one ponder the extent of hospitality the human being is capable of. Are we really the peaceful and intelligent being that is drilled into our head since birth? If we were to be invaded by an alien race, would we try to fight and kill or would we be able to share the planet in hospitality? This whole story just hit me so hard and made me think. During the entire film, there were so many heartfelt moments where the audience really connected to Ender as well as other characters. The story is emotional, adventuresome, dramatic, and addictive. When I watched the film I could see several members of the audience sitting on the edge of their seats. The acting in this film was superb. It was so great to see Harrison Ford finally get into a film that reflected his ability. Asa Butterfield was absolutely magnificent. I looked up his portfolio after the movie and found out the guy is only sixteen years old. I kid you not, I thought he was probably in his twenties and just looked really young. He was very remarkable and really made the movie. I dont think the casting team could have found an actor better fit for the role. The confidence in his performance was so believable and his overall authority and tone just simply blew me away. When I hear about a sixteen year old I am thinking of people with maturity levels and acting ability on the levels of Miley Cyrus and Justin Bieber. No this young man certainly has quite a career ahead of him if he continues on this track as he fits the mold of some of the greatest actors like Tom Hanks and Sir Anthony Hopkins. Another great addition to the cast was Hailee Steinfeld. I had forgotten her amazing performance in True Grit which was shameful on my part because she absolutely stole the show in that movie. Enders Game puts her side by side with the films title character, Ender as his wingman so to speak. She brought a since of charm about her performance and was also very believable. When I was first introduced to her on screen in the film I thought, Oh no, not another teen romance like Twilight. I was definitely wrong. She is a girl but there doesnt seem to be much focus on any romance between she and Ender which I thought was awesome. There are too many occasions in the movies where just because the supporting character is female or vice versa, the writer or director feels like all of a sudden there just has to be a hot steamy romance between the two characters and I really dont think that has to be so. Steinfeld did a remarkable job in her performance and added quite a few qualities not only to her character but to that of Ender as well. I am quite certain that this film will be very successful. I really hope that it is. With that said I am fairly confident that we will see a sequel or two come out of this as well. My only hope is that whoever is in charge of the sequel makes it just as wonderful, if not better, than the first. I know that I am going to be showing this movie to my nephew when he gets old enough because I think the movie contains several lessons that everybody could afford to take with them. I think that everyone should go out and see this movie as soon as they can. It is quite the masterpiece and definitely deserves recognition over its predecessors, Bad Grandpa and The Counselor, which were released last week. The film has much to obtain from it, but it isnt boring. It is action-packed and very thrilling. I would probably recommend anyone over the age of seven to see it. There is quite a bit of bullying to Ender in it and some parents may need to explain that to their children. There is also the reversal of that as Ender is confronted in the shower and out of mistake, he shoves another kid to the floor causing him to be seriously injured and some really young kids may become upset by the realistic images of the injuries. Other than that one scene there really isnt any other bloody violence. Everything else is explosions and such and kids love that. The alien does make an appearance in the film but isnt portrayed very scary. Hopper from A Bugs Life was scarier than the alien in my opinion. Anyway, I am very interested in everyone elses thoughts and opinions about this film. Do you think it was as good as I did? Do you think we are looking at another successful film franchise that actually has good movies? I am very interested and very eager to hear your thoughts! Until next time enjoy the magic of the movies!
Posted on: Fri, 01 Nov 2013 08:31:35 +0000