ENDER'S GAME is less than a month away from hitting theaters and today we have our first look at a clip from the film, which has Harrison Ford's Colonel Graff offering up an army to Asa Butterfield's Ender Wiggin. It's a pretty good set-up of what leads the film, which is Ender becoming a battlefield leader and is a good segue into the world of the film for those uninitiated to the source novel by Orson Scott Card.
He has an army:
Here's the lengthy snyopsis:
In the near future, a hostile alien race called the Formics have attacked Earth. If not for the legendary heroics of International Fleet Commander Mazer Rackham (Ben Kingsley), all would have been lost. In preparation for the next attack, the highly esteemed Colonel Hyrum Graff (Harrison Ford) and the International Military are training only the best young minds to find the future Mazer.
Ender Wiggin (Asa Butterfield), a shy but strategically brilliant boy, is recruited to join the elite. Arriving at Battle School, Ender quickly and easily masters increasingly difficult challenges and simulations, distinguishing himself and winning respect amongst his peers. Ender is soon ordained by Graff as the military’s next great hope, resulting in his promotion to Command School. Once there, he’s trained by Mazer Rackham himself to lead his fellow soldiers into an epic battle that will determine the future of Earth and save the human race.
I'm optimistic about ENDER'S GAME. Director Gavin Hood has taken a lot of shit for his X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE, but this looks much sharper in the effects department and his passion while speaking at Comic Con this year kind of won me over. He has a strong respect for the fanbase and with the nice assembly of actors in the film it seems he put forth a tremendous effort to make a great film and one that would honor the source novel. Could ENDER'S GAME be a surprise hit or a sci-fi dud? I'm hoping for the former.
ENDER'S GAME invades theaters on November 1, 2013.