Ender's Game **½

Gavin Hood wrote and directed this SciFi Drama. Watch Preview. Cast: Asa Butterfield, Ben Kingsley, Harrison Ford, Hailee Steinfeld, Abigail Breslin, Viola Davis, Nonso Anozie, Stevie Ray Dillmore, Andrea Powell, Moises Arias, Conor Carroll, Aramis Knight, Brandon Soo hoo, Jimmy "Jax" Pinchak, Suraj Parthasarathy, Khylin Rhambo. Rated PG-13 for some violence, sci-fi action and thematic material. Running time is one hour and fifty-four minutes.

In the near future, a hostile alien race has attacked Earth. In preparation for the next attack, a highly esteemed Colonel (Harrison Ford) and the International Military are training only the best young minds to fight the next battle.

I found this a bit disappointing. It has good production values, good CGI and a good cast. What it doesn't have is a story that makes sense. The final few minutes seem more like a literary contrivance  than a flash of  mental brilliance and the ending just doesn't ring true. The other problem with the film is there's no real involvement with the characters so when all is said and done, you don't really care about them or their problems. I think part of this is because you never get to see the aliens in action, you just hear they killed millions, so for the most part they are faceless entities. That makes it hard to root for someone against something completely unknown. I saw this in IMAX and thought it a very good presentation even though I can't say the same about the film. A lot of people made the book a bestseller. It'll be interesting to hear what they have to say about the movie.

There are no additional scenes once the final credits begin. A large screen is better for this film. Theatres/Times. IMAX Times.