I never read the book, Ender’s Game, and I wanted to see it in the theaters, but didn’t want to financially support a movie because of some controversy surrounding the author. While I am ethically fine with that decision, I simultaneously regret missing the opportunity to see it on the big screen. I really enjoyed it. Asa Butterfield is a good actor. Not a good actor for a child, but a good actor and holds his own against other actors such as Harrison Ford, Ben Kingsley, Viola Davis and Nonso Anozie (Dracula and Game of Thrones). Butterfield played Mordred in Merlin, and he can still balance sympathy and coldness as he matures. What is he going to be like as an adult? I liked how Ender’s Game immediately plunged the viewer into this violent, child abusive world without explanation thus making the threat more plausible and believable. The pacing felt rushed, particularly anytime after Ben Kingsley appears, but a longer movie may not have worked either so I’ll sign a waiver on that imperfection. The depiction of sim Ender or his mind moved the plot forward instead of feeling repetitive or laughable. Ender’s Game made some nods towards the dangers of global warming and overpopulation, but nothing that detracted from the main plot and only enhanced the story. I thought it was a surprisingly solid movie along the lines of The Hunger Games except worse because the parents mostly condone and encourage their kids’ ambitions albeit ambivalently. Ender’s Game is one of the few movies that can have its cake (make us want Ender to be a ruthless, strategic child leader who can demolish the enemy and root for more fight/battle scenes) and eat it too (make us appalled at the systematic child abuse and genocide). I would recommend Ender’s Game unless you can’t deal with dark scenes involving kids.