Almost profound, but a miss is a miss

Rating: 7/10 (3 March 2014)

"Cracks" appear in the veneer of "Ender's game, right from the beginning. The camera feed of Mazer Rackham's destruction of a Formic civilization mother ship ends abruptly, going to black rather than static. The production design is uninspired, not nearly as interesting as that of "Skyline" or "Lockout," which were a fraction of the cost. The weapons and weapons platforms are as anachronistic as "Battlestar Galactica" (2004), a considerably more profound project than "Ender's Game". What "Ender's Game" DOES have are great performances by Asa Butterfield and Harrison Ford. In my opinion, this is Ford's best performance, as he gives a human face to a "monster". Asa Butterfield is flawless; I have never seen such an assured performance from such a young actor. Heck, many of the most-honored veterans could not pull off such a difficult role. Butterfield and director Gavin Hood manage to make "Ender's Game" a near-great, if not great film for the first two-thirds, despite its predictability and other shortcomings. However, when Ender reaches advanced military training the movie begins to fall apart. Director Hood, excellent with ensemble actors, is simply NOT an "action director". As producer, Hood should have recognized this and budgeted for John Woo, who proved his supreme worth in handling spectacle with "Red Cliff". Then,there is Ben Kingsley, who brings nothing extra to a underwritten role.
The horrendous "secret" of Ender's Game is obvious from the beginning. Ender, who clearly regrets some of his choices, is disappointingly indifferent to his team, who share his guilt; and should, eventually, at least, feel the consequences. This is the fatal flaw in "Ender's Game," almost profound, but a miss is still a miss.
I give "Ender's Game" a week "7," based entirely on the acting and message.