Ender's Game - Ender’s in school

Okay, so I’ll admit I didn’t like this film as much as I wanted to. I’m a fan of big-budget sci-fi and alien invasion movies in general, so was hoping for an ‘us versus them’ kind of vibe.

I haven’t read the book, so perhaps anyone who has will already know what I found out… namely that the film is basically all about Ender who’s training to fight a second (alleged) alien attack on Earth. And train he does. About 75% of the film is about him in a sort of space school/boot camp. He doesn’t do that much fighting of aliens.

Apparently we (Earth) need kids to fight for us. This is because… er… we just do, okay? Moving on… And, while these wonderkids are preparing to take on every last intergalactic nasty, they spend their time being bullied. Ender gets bullied at his school on Earth. Then he goes home to his family to be bullied by his older brother. Finally, when he makes it to boot camp he’s bullied there, too. And, when he shines out among his peers he’s then elevated to a squad of cadets including the biggest (or should I say ‘smallest?’) bully ever to grace the screen.

This film is rated ‘12’ here in the UK and I reckon that if I was still a twelve-year-old boy then I would have loved it. Sadly, I’m an adult now and found it all a little boring.

But, it’s not all so bad. This boy who plays Ender does a really good job and will doubtless grow up to become a pretty big name in Hollywood. Plus you have Harrison Ford and Ben Kingsley – both of which turn in typically excellent performances.

Not my cup of tea, but I’m sure it’ll find an audience somewhere. Now… I just need to know where I can play ‘zero gravity Quasar’ – I may not be twelve any more, but that looks like serious fun!

6/10 May just keep you awake if Freddy Krueger was haunting your nights