Imagine that earth is invaded by alien
warriors who nearly destroy humans. They are eventually defeated, but it seems
they will return with an even greater force. To stop this, the space fleet
trains children in combat, hoping they will become the leaders to destroy alien
threats.
This basically sums up the introduction to
the sci-fi thriller Ender's Game, about a genius teenager who is
enlisted for strategy and battle training, in hopes of becoming the commander
to defeat alien armies.
Ender's Game was one of 2013's most successful films,
as it earned over $61 million in North America alone. The movie stars Asa
Butterfield as Andrew "Ender" Wiggin, Harrison Ford as Col. Hyrum
Graff, and Hailee Steinfeld as Petra Arkanian.
SUMMARY
After an introduction of the human-alien war, the
film's storyline jumps right into Andrew "Ender" Wiggin's life (he is first shown as a teenager). A
pair of officers from the International Fleet (IS) keep an intense watch on
Ender. Within the first ten minutes or so of the film, a special IS monitor is
removed from his neck.
After this, at school, Ender is confronted by some
bullies. He is attacked by their leader, Stilson, but knocks him down and
repeatedly punches him. Later, when questioned about his actions, Ender says he
was making sure he won all of the future fights with Stilson.
Soon, Col. Graff from IS comes to the Wiggin home and
explains that Ender needs to go to Battle School. He does give Ender a choice,
but strongly suggests taking the chance. Ender agrees and soon finds himself on
board a space shuttle with several other adolescents.
Once reaching Battle School, Ender is eventually put
into a group of cadets, though he is mostly resented by the others. It is later
learned that this was intentional, as Graff and Major Gwen Anderson planned to
study his behavior.
Ender and his team participate in "battle
games" which are war simulations that are fought in a giant, zero-gravity
battle room. Ender soon learns how to maneuver and take action within the
gravity-free area.
Afterwards, he is sent to a new group named
Salamander Army, which is commanded by a teen named Bonzo. There is immediate
loathing between Ender and Bonzo, leading to the higher-ranking teen to forbid
Ender from actively participating in the battle games...or even training.
However, fellow cadet Petra secretly trains with Ender, helping him hone his
abilities.
During a battle game, although ordered not to
interfere with the battle, Ender takes action against orders, which leads to a
victory for his team. He then cunningly gets Bonzo to let him practice openly.
Later, Ender begins to play a computer game on a
tablet-like electronic. The game includes images of not only a Formic alien,
but also Ender's siblings Peter and Valentine. Monitoring his actions in the
game, Col. Graff makes Ender the commander of his own team.
Yet this is not as great as it may seem. Ender's
squad is put into extremely hard battles, including having to fight two teams
at a time. And still, Ender's Dragon Army does exceedingly well, mostly due to
his genius strategies.
But one of the teams beaten was Salamander, making
Bonzo even more enraged at Ender. Bonzo and a pair of his soldiers confront
Ender while taking a shower. Ender proves himself resourceful by spraying the
hot water on Bonzo. Eventually, Ender knocks Bonzo down, who hits his head on
the hard ground. Bonzo dies, traumatizing Ender.
After this turn of events, Ender is allowed a break
from Battle School and is taken to a secluded, peaceful spot on earth, where he
is also permitted to have a visit from Valentine. After talking to his sister,
Ender decides to return to space in order to continue with the next part of his
training.
Ender is taken to an abandoned alien planet where
humans have set up a base of operations from which to command their fleet.
Ender begins training under the tutelage of a battle hero named Mazer Rackham.
Also, Ender's teammates from Battle School have been promoted to train with
him. The group simulates life-like battles with a visual alien fleet.
Finally, Ender and his squad are given one last
challenge, this time with fleet officers watching. The visual screen shows a
battle near the aliens' home planet, though Ender's fleet is far outnumbered.
He employs surprising strategies, attempting to win this final test.
Ender and his squad pass the test, but Col. Graff
tells them something that had been kept secret, causing the victorious Ender to
become deeply angered.
The film does end with a few shocks
and surprises for those who do not already know the plot.
CONTENT
The majority of this film is no more violent than
a Star Wars movie, though there are some tense moments. At the
beginning, a monitor is removed from the back of Ender's neck (he screams
during this process). Once removed, the machine is placed in a glass of water,
turning the liquid red due to blood. Also, when Ender gets into a fight with a
bully, he repeatedly punches the other teen, causing a bloody nose. While at
home, Ender is attacked by his older brother Peter, who begins to choke him
(this scene is especially disturbing, as Peter forces Ender to wear a kind of
mask). Yet again, Ender gets into a fight with a sort of bully. Ender kicks the
boy, who falls and hits his head on hard flooring, which leads to his death. In
addition to this, there are battle games that teenagers participate in. They
fire paralyzing lasers at other teens; however, this does not cause death or
injury, but only "freezes" the affected part of the body. While playing
a computer game, Ender guides his mouse character to burrow into a giant's eye.
Finally, during the fleet battle simulations, there are multiple explosions.
As far as language, a** and G*d are each used once,
as well as a use of "gosh." There is also a mild reference to male
private area.
Sexual content is pretty mild, although it does have
a presence in the film. Pre-teens and teens of both genders sleep in the same
rooms (on different bunks), yet nothing sexual is shown (there are not even any
kisses). During a class at Battle School, while talking about a test, one cadet
says to another, "Your mother cheated; that's why you look like a
plumber." Also, Ender is shown in the shower, from the waist upwards. When
is confronted by some bullies, his only covering is a towel (as there is no
wall, door, or even curtain with the shower).
While this film is geared toward teenagers, it
certainly is not like other "teen-flicks" that include gore, sex, or
things of that nature. This is much more like a fusion between the World War II
movie Tora! Tora! Tora! and a Star Wars film.
However, it still is pretty violent for younger children especially.
An interesting note is the morality of war. At one
point, Graff tells Ender that nothing matters but that they win. Ender retorts
that how they win is what matters. Even though the Formic
aliens are the mortal enemies of humans, Ender finds compassion for them after
learning so much about how they think. This film really explores what it means
to know your enemy and, not to mention, the moral or immoral ways a war can be
fought.
The special effects of Ender's Game are
superb and amazing. In a time when most movies have stunning effects, it is
pretty hard to impress. I must say that the effects of this film impressed me
very much. The final battles are especially amazing!
I found this to be an enjoyable and thought-provoking
film. But because of some intense violence, including some blood, this is
certainly not for younger kids. While a good amount of the first half of the
movie is mild and mostly dialogue, it still has intense and frightening scenes
for children, including the aliens.
GENERAL INFORMATION
Length: 114 minutes
Rating: PG-13 (for some violence, sci-fi action and thematic
material)
Director: Gavin Hood
Producers: Linda McDonough, Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, Robert
Chartoff, Lynn Hendee, Orson Scott Card, Ed Ulbrich
Music: Steve Jablonsky
Year of release: 2013
Primary audience: Pre-teens, teens
Year of release: 2013
Primary audience: Pre-teens, teens
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