Geek Girl Features

Next up on the billboards is “Ender’s Game.” Based on the book by Orson Scott Card in 1985, the film centers around Andrew “Ender” Wiggins, a third child born into a two-child restricted society, whose military aptitudes may lead him to be the man to save Earth from the Formics, an invading race of aliens.

Ender is a student of the International Fleet, which trains soldiers for the next war with the Formics. As a student, he excels in strategy, something the leaders of IF are searching for to lead the offensive attack.

After being promoted through the ranks of the academy, and acquiring friends and enemies along the way, Ender is finally faced with some of the biggest battles of his life, and some that may not just be a simple training exercise.

The cast list is impressive. Asa Butterfield stars as icy pre-teen Ender, backed up by names such as Harrison Ford, Viola Davis, Ben Kingsley and Abigail Breslin. Yet, that isn’t what makes this movie cinematically as impressive as it is.

That would be the effects. From the zero-gravity game room to the massive simulations that Ender and his team maneuver in Command School, the viewer is treated to fast moving, brilliant effects that one only sees in big budget post-apocalypse films such as “Ender’s Game.”

This one lands a solid A from me. The acting, effects and thought provoking undertones about the importance, or lack, of war, the idea of overpopulation and the methods Earth’s inhabitants have to take in order to survive their reproduction, allow for contemporary social commentary.

“Ender’s Game” is rated PG-13 for some violence, sci fi action and thematic material. If this wasn’t already on your list of movies to see this fall, take note.