"Enders Game" seeks a glass elevator...

Rating: 7/10 (4 May 2020)

There is more than a passing resemblance to "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" is this great looking sci-fi tale of a creative genius (Mark Rylance) who bequeaths his entire OASIS business empire to the gamer who can play the games, unlock the keys and solve the ultimate puzzle. I am neither a gamer, nor have I read Ernest Cline's novel upon which this is actually based - so can only speak from an entertainment perspective. It isn't a great film - the swapping between reality and avatar existences gets annoying after a while and Tye Sheridan as the hero "Parzival" is not Spielberg's best casting choice - he struggles to be convincing as either the nerdy geek or the sexy super-hero as he and sassy Olivia Cooke "Art3mis" determine to win this dream competition. Arch baddie Ben Mendelsohn is a sort of "Cyber-Slugworth" though without any real menace, from a rival company who is also trying to solve the puzzle that will hand him control of this industrial nirvana and as we see, will stop at "virtually" nothing to thwart their enterprise. It's end-to-end stuff and visual effects are superb but at 2 hours and 20, it is way too long for the two principal actors to spin out, despite some effort going into a decent soundtrack accompaniment.