Meaningful message, terrific acting, thought-provoking.

Rating: 10/10 (11 November 2013)

Ender, a young teen with gifts in diplomacy, strategic thinking, & enough empathy to see another person's (or being's) perspective is recruited for training to use the latest technology to save the world from an alien invasion. Ender's empathy is what drives the whole story: it contributes to rapid promotions; allows him to become a leader; & is the single most important tool he uses to find the weakness in his opponent, but it also forces him to connect emotionally to the enemy & results in a great burden to him when he conquers them.
Outstanding acting all around from both the veteran actors and the kids. The movie adaptation is less dark than the book which works for me. I want to be able to watch a meaningful, thought-provoking story with my teenagers, one that offers complexity of character and situation that leads to discussion. Most of the special effects and environments were convincingly futuristic and realistic. The soundtrack enhanced the story and added to the emotional weight already there. We loved it enough to see it a second time, and while the element of surprise was no longer there, we enjoyed the movie just as much. We were able to pick up a few things we missed the first time, talked about character motivation, actor delivery, plot, etc. It was very satisfying because there were so many elements to explore.