51
Metascore
39 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 80Total FilmTotal FilmLike its hero, Ender’s Game relies on brains more than brute force. An absorbing portrait of Lord Of The Flies-style morality housed in imaginative sci-fi casing.
- 75Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperChicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperAt times Ender’s Game throws so many metaphors and moral dilemmas our way, we almost forget to appreciate the stunning and gorgeous visuals covering every inch of the screen. Almost.
- 70VarietyPeter DebrugeVarietyPeter DebrugeAn impressive, thought-provoking astro-adventure that benefits from the biggest screen available.
- 60Time Out LondonTom HuddlestonTime Out LondonTom HuddlestonIt falters once the actual war begins: Ben Kingsley shows up as a Maori warrior with the weirdest imaginable accent, the final battle is uninvolving, and there’s an unconvincing upbeat coda. Ender’s Game ends up being fitfully engaging and endearingly odd.
- 60The GuardianPeter BradshawThe GuardianPeter BradshawThe movie's apocalyptic finale indicates that it's bitten off considerably more than it can chew in terms of ideas, but it looks good, and the story rattles along.
- If only adapter-director Gavin Hood's movie had been tempered with craft and care and wasn't such a blunt instrument, one that seems designed as a delivery system for CGI derring-do instead of the heartbreaker it should be.
- 58The PlaylistThe PlaylistAs a mainstream sci-fi film, this enjoyable, occasionally poignant effort too often feels messy in the wrong ways.
- 50McClatchy-Tribune News ServiceRoger MooreMcClatchy-Tribune News ServiceRoger MooreSure, it’s good-looking, cautionary and clever enough. But there’s not much in this “Game” that you’d call thrilling or fun.
- 40EmpireHelen O'HaraEmpireHelen O'HaraIt admirably avoids many of the pitfalls of adapting this book, but seems to have lost some of the life and pace as well.