This is a movie based on a best selling book by Orson Scott Card, and it is interesting that when this particular author is mentioned there is always an outcry against his position on homosexuality. While I am tolerant of homosexuality and will tend not to make statements as controversial as Card may have done, I do feel that the same tolerance that I am showing to the LGBT community is the same form of tolerance that is shown towards Card. In fact it sounds as if the producers of this movie deliberately kept Card away from its production due to a potential backlash from certain groups who are threatened by his views, and this is a man who is a self proclaimed Democrat, communitarian (I note that he does not use the term communist, but his description makes it sound like a less Stalinist version). While I may not agree with his Mormon beliefs, I do not find him anywhere near as objectionable as some people claim him to be (and I assure you that there are worse people out there than Card).

As for the movie, I thought it was brilliant. Earth has been attacked by a race of aliens known as the Formic, and by a bit of luck, were beaten off. However, the people of Earth have decided that they need to act to prevent another such tragedy, and begin a rigorous training program to find a general that will lead them to victory against the Formic and they do this by recruiting children and testing them through the use of games which become progressively harder, and more realistic.

The movie follows the life of a boy named Ender, and the military minds who are watching his progress. It is clear that Ender has an exceptional tactical mind, but it is also clear that he is not a warrior and does not have the mentality of a warrior, which makes it difficult for the military to use him to meet their objectives – which is why they end up disguising the operations as games and military exercises, and why they also work exceptionally hard to hide the truth about his actions from him.

The key to this is the idea where at the beginning of the movie he knocks down a bully, and then proceeds to continue to kick him not to exact vengeance or uncontrolled anger on him, but to prevent him from getting up again. This is an aspect of violence that many people do not understand. When you win a fight, you do not necessarily defeat your opponent, but rather you end up angering your opponent who then looks for the opportunity to seek revenge against you. It is an endless cycle that ends up going nowhere.

However, despite the attitude of Ender in that he only fights to defend himself, it is clear that the Earth military are seeking vengeance. In the final battle Ender notices that the enemy are not attacking, and they only attack when he makes the first move. There are a number of instances in the film where he makes the first move in a simulated battle, however it is clear that this is simulated and the first movie needs to be made. However, in the real battle (which is disguised as a game) this is not the case, however because he believes that it is a simulation he believes that this is a case where the first move needs to be made.

This is a film which is about battle and about military tactics, however it also questions the need for a pre-emptive strike. While Ender does make some strikes in this film, it is clear that it is in a battle situation, however there is a different situation where, as is clear in the final scene, or at least revealed in the final scene, that this is not a battle in a war, but it is a final strike against an enemy who has already fallen and is not willing to get up again. This is why Ender is so sickened at the outcome at the end because he is not kicking him to prevent him from getting up again, but taking out vengeance against an opponent that has already been defeated.

The box-office failure of big budget (110m$) book adaptation 'Ender's Game' doesn't bode well for the future of my favorite movie genre. Writer Orson Scott Card has had many offers since the book release in 1985 to turn it into a film. He rejected many of them because of creative differences and because most Studios insisted on making Ender older (in the book he's 6 to 10 years old). There were plans in 2003 by Warner Brothers to let Wolfgang Petersen have a go at it with a script written by Card himself. Card's script was a fusion of 'Ender's Game' and 'Ender's Shadow'. In 2010 Gavin Hood got attached as director and screenwriter and the script became based on the first book again with plans to make it into a franchise or a TV series if successful. Unfortunately EG made only 112m$ worldwide (although it opened first place in the US with 27m$) so all future plans have been put on ice. It's really a shame because as far as science fiction flicks go this really is one of the better ones. The VFX were done by Digital Domain who also co-financed the film and they look absolutely stunning. This film will a good 4K showcase Blu-ray when they finalize the format at the end of 2014. The film follows the book quite closely but because of the time constraints of the film medium a lot of events had to be compressed and some subplots where eliminated. 113 mins really is too short, an extra 40 mins or so would have let more room to expand on Ender's training etc. Altogether I think most fans of the book will be happy with the end result but it it just lacks the depth the book had to offer. So hopefully they make a 3 hour extended version (depending on how much material they shot) on BD to give the story more time to breathe.

This movie was actually really good! I thoroughly enjoyed it, the characters were great, storyline was intriguing, and acting was good. I expected a 6.6 movie, but got one way better than that.