Ender's Game (2013) Asa Butterfield, Harrison Ford, Hailee Steinfeld, Abigail Breslin, Ben Kingsley, Viola Davis Movie Review

Ender's Game (2013)   3/53/53/53/53/5


Asa Butterfield in Ender's Game (2013)

End Never Comes

50 years after Earth was attacked and all but destroyed by an alien race looking to wipe out mankind the survivors having banded together to survive further alien attacks. Young Ender Wiggin is selected by Colonel Graff to enter battle school, a training ground for elite children and Graff believes that Ender is special. But as Ender goes through the training to become a killer and a leader he begins to question what he is doing and the motive of those in charge.

In space no one can hear you scream but I damn well bet they can hear you snore when tedium pushes you over the edge. It is what happened to me during the first hour of "Ender's Game" a movie which seems to be popular with the young, something which is of little surprise to me considering this is once again a special effects heavy movie. To put that in to context during the first hour all you get is the evolution of Ender from a quiet but smart kid to a leader with attitude as he goes to battle school and after annoying others is promoted by Colonel Graff who favours him. Okay so there is seemingly something else going on when it comes to motive on the part of Graff as it seems something is being kept from us but the first half of the movie is sadly repetitive.

Harrison Ford in Ender's Game (2013)

But during that first half what you get is a lot of special effects, a heck of a lot of special effects and young audiences and some older ones who just want to be visually wowed will probably love it all. Maybe it is just me as now they seem able to visually make even the wildest fantasy possible with the use of computers this spoils a movie. Maybe I can just appreciate the skills of the old set designers and special effects people who would build and create something physically rather than generating it on increasingly powerful computers. It means that whilst it is hard not to applaud "Ender's Game" for its look the 30% which is the story is not enough to captivate you.

What this all boils down to is that "Ender's Game" probably is entertaining for a young generation who enjoy movies which stretch fantasy with the aid of CGI. But for those who seek more story, more character and more of anything other than CGI are going to be left seeking another movie to watch.


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