Good, not great.

Rating: 7/10 (2 January 2014)

Well, nothing better than starting the new year in the movies with a fresh new sci-fi based on a successful novel. I might say I never read the book that is based on, so I watched the thing as a moviegoer only. I intend to read it later though, as it's very well spoken. And how was it? It was good. It wasn't great, but good. Harrison Ford still kicks, I couldn't help but think about Commander Han Solo during the screening, but that's beside the point. Ben Kinsley and Viola Davis are good too and it's great to see that Asa Butterfield is evolving as an actor, I remember him in Hugo and, wow, the boy did grow fast!
I don't really know what's the ruckus about the harsh criticism to this movie, I personally think that Gavin Hood, despite being director for hire, made up pretty well here after his disastrous Wolverine movie. The story is good, thanks for writer Orson Scott Card who wrote the original book series, I don't really know if it's in the book, but during the Ender and Bonzo fight in the bathroom I couldn't help but think on Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket for some reason. The final twist is kinda predictable, but it brings good development and more depth to Asa's character. The only major mistake here you ask? Well, director Gavin Hood just left a hint for a possible sequel in the end of the movie.
Pffffffff... where do I start?...
It's a flaw because you never know if your movie will earn a sequel, so you have to make the thing stand on it's own. Now they have a film that, because of a weak box office may not continue its story and the story of the movie may never get to a resolution. That's lame. People involved in movie productions should've learned this lesson long ago, but no, they keep making the same mistakes, over and over again. They never consider the possibility of major failure. Expect the best, prepare for the worst, that's a lesson to learn! And if you refer to franchises like Lord of the Rings, well, that's different! Gavin Hood is a mediocre director at best. You don't take that kind of risk with mediocre talents, you have to play safe.
Hell, even Christopher freakin' Nolan, who is one of the top directors today was wise enough to make every single chapter of his Batman trilogy stand on it's own. He didn't do that unpurposedly, he considered the possibility of something going really wrong during the first film because he wasn't famous enough. I guess that settles for a lot of things.
Overall, not a bad movie, but not a great one either, it has interesting ideas (probably not as interesting as the books) but let's see what will they accomplish from this point on.