Went to another press screening for MovieScene last week, and here's the result:
http://www.moviescene.nl/p/153155/enders_game_-_recensie
This movie was more thought provoking than I anticipated. Training kids' minds in order to manipulate them into becoming master strategists with no moral complexion to annihilate the enemy? Not the stuff you usually see in PG-13 movies. A lot of good actors - half of the child actors too have Oscar nominations already - though a lot of them didn't come off as particularly compelling because their characters were given little opportunity to grow on you. It's Ender's movie after all, and Asa Butterfield did a pretty good job carrying his film. Too bad about the obligatory hopeful and happy Hollywood close, but it doesn't hurt the shocking (though not hugely surprising) climax near the end of the film that shows us just how low Ender has unintentionally sunk due to his commanding officers screwing him over, all for the so-called sake of humanity. For a film that most at first glance would consider to be a generic Sci-Fi action flick, as such it packs a more powerful punch than expected.
