ENDER'S GAME (2013) ¢ ¢ ¢
D: Gavin Hood
Asa Butterfield, Harrison Ford, Hailee Steinfeld,
Abigail Breslin, Ben Kingsley, Viola Davis
Young-adult sci-fi starring Asa Butterfield as a gamer/warrior who might be earth's only hope to counter an alien invasion. Harrison Ford plays the grizzled commander who recruits the kid, which is kind of like having an ancient Han Solo acting as a grumpy mentor to the grandson of Luke Skywalker. On its own juvenile terms, it's a pretty good movie. It's decently acted, the story's familiar enough to be instantly accessible, and the effects crew does its job. It's conventionally militaristic, but it raises some interesting moral issues with a level of intelligence you don't always find in high-tech space epics. And the notion that today's young gamers might someday possess the skill set and wherewithal to save the planet or blow it to pieces might not be so far-fetched, either. We can only wait and see.
