Ender's Game

Ender's Game

Rating 4 out of 10

I have heard Ender's Game was at some point a best selling book.  I read a decent amount and have never heard of the book.  Now I can say I wish I had never heard of this movie.  That's a little harsh.  This is not a terrible movie.  Just not a very good one.  I was mildly entertained.

The movie takes place in the future.  A group of aliens has attacked Earth and were on the verge of total destruction until hero Commander Rackham (Ben Kingsley) saves the day and defeats the enemy.  Fifty years later the military on Earth is in constant preparation for the next attack that they are sure is on the way.  They have determined the fate of the planet lies in teenage boys and girls.  I think they have been playing video games which would make their minds quicker and able to wave their arms around commanding the space ship armies.  Colonel Graff (Harrison Ford) is on the constant lookout for that genius wizard that will lead us to victory.

That genius wizard is a goofy looking boy with a stranger name of Ender Wiggin (Asa Butterfield) who isn't sure he wants the part.  He is grouped with another batch of teenagers including Petra (Haliee Steinfeld- the girl from True Grit).

The movie to me seemed like I was watching a video game.  Harrison Ford seems to be mailing in his parts now and needs to retire.  He has one gruff look and walks thru the part.  The biggest problem for me is I never cared about the main characters.  In the end I didn't care who survived or who didn't.  The effects were a little cheesy.  Most of the action comes from a zero gravity tag game with the cadets at the want to be wizard academy.

I was mildly entertained at times, but mostly bored.  Wished I had gone to see Bad Grandpa again.