Ender's Game

"This is not a game."

2013 1h 54m EN

👍

6.6

SOLID

★6.6TMDB · 6,456

Science FictionActionAdventure

Synopsis

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Based on the classic novel by Orson Scott Card, Ender's Game is the story of the Earth's most gifted children training to defend their homeplanet in the space wars of the future.

“This is not a game.”

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Cast

Asa Butterfield
Ender Wiggin
Hailee Steinfeld
Petra Arkanian
Harrison Ford
Colonel Hyrum Graff
Viola Davis
Major Gwen Anderson
Ben Kingsley
Mazer Rackham
Abigail Breslin
Valentine Wiggin
Aramis Knight
Bean
Moisés Arias
Bonzo Madrid

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Gavin Hood
Writers: Gavin Hood
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

$110M budget — tentpole studio territory.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 13 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Gavin Hood, shot by Donald McAlpine. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Steve Jablonsky. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Zach Staenberg shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Asa Butterfield and Hailee Steinfeld and Harrison Ford carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "This is not a game.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt1731141 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Gavin Hood directs. Donald McAlpine behind the camera. Steve Jablonsky scores. Zach Staenberg cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1$110M budget — tentpole studio territory.
2Released 13 years ago.
3Directed by Gavin Hood, shot by Donald McAlpine. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Steve Jablonsky. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Zach Staenberg shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Asa Butterfield and Hailee Steinfeld and Harrison Ford carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "This is not a game.".
8IMDB entry: tt1731141 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 20 themes, including "based on novel or book", "fight", "starship", "intolerance".
10Released under 13 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Donald McAlpine
Original score: Steve Jablonsky
Editing: Zach Staenberg
Production design: Sean Haworth
Costume design: Christine Bieselin Clark
Makeup / hair: Trefor Proud
VFX supervisor: Tim Carras
Sound: Eric Lindemann
Stunt coordinator: Garrett Warren
Runtime: 114 min · 1h 54m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $110,000,000
Box office: $125,537,191
Return: 114% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: Ender's Game (2013)

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Gavin Hood

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Andres Gomez2014-10-24
★ 4/10
Some kind of space Harry Potter in a dull story about doing a genocide US style as if it would be a video game. Boring and with the stupid "we are not so bad" ending to make everybody happy. Still wondering what Harrision Ford and Ben Kingsley are doing in this movie ...
CinemaSerf2024-06-06
★ 6/10
I doubt "Ender Wiggin" (Asa Butterfield) would be anyone's idea of a soldier but "Col. Graff" (Harrison Ford) reckons his reaction to some bullies might suggest he has more mettle than his weedy physique indicates. His bootcamp experiences are much the same with loads of muscle-bound bullies making his life difficult but "Graff" isn't interested in making his life any easier, despite the occasional protests of his sidekick "Anderson" (Voila Davis). Indeed he actually ups the ante considerably when the young man is introduced to the eccentric "Mazer" (Sir Ben Kingsley). A veteran of the ongoing deadlocked war with the "Formics" that everyone hopes can train the the young "Ender" to break. Butterfield does quite well here as the youngster but both Ford and Kingsley underwhelm with the latter, tattoo-covered, character more hammy than intimidating as the story gradually stops being about the people and more of a video game with great visual effects, but a rather weak conclusion to the story that is inconsistently paced for two hours. I like the genre and it tries to be a bit different in it's approach to sci-fi story with a bit of a conscience. Worth a watch.
misubisu2026-03-26
★ 6/10
Score: 6/10 - A Technically Proficient, Emotionally Hollow Adaptation There are certain books that lodge themselves in your psyche so deeply that decades later, scenes, lines, and questions still surface unbidden. Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game is one such novel. Published in 1985, it was a seismic work of speculative fiction, a brilliant, brutal, and morally devastating exploration of childhood, manipulation, and the terrible cost of victory. For those of us who read it forty years ago and still think about it, the 2013 film adaptation arrives with impossible baggage. Judged purely as a movie, it is competent, visually striking, and well acted. Judged as an adaptation of a foundational text, it is a profound disappointment. What Works (On Its Own Terms): Visual Spectacle: The film looks the part. The Battle Room sequences, zero-gravity combat with floating armies of child soldiers—are rendered with genuine scale and excitement. The CGI is seamless, and the production design captures the stark, utilitarian brutality of the Battle School. It is a visually immersive experience. Asa Butterfield's Performance: Butterfield does credible work as Ender. He captures the character's isolation, his reluctant brilliance, and the terrible weight placed upon him. The conflict is there in his eyes, even when the script fails to give it the space it needs. Harrison Ford as Graff: Ford brings gravitas to Colonel Graff, the manipulative architect of Ender's torment. He sells the character's cold, utilitarian amorality, even if the film softens his edges significantly. Why It Fails (For Those Who Carry the Book): This is where the review becomes personal and necessary. There is nothing in this movie that resonates. The novel's power was its interiority. We were inside Ender's mind for every strategic calculation, every sleepless night, every moment of self doubt and creeping horror. We understood not just what he did, but why and the devastating psychological cost. The film, in its rush to cover the novel's sprawling narrative in two hours, reduces this internal war to a series of plot points. The moral complexity is sanded down. The other children; Bean, Petra, Alai—are reduced to archetypes. Their relationships with Ender, which in the book were lifelines of fragile trust, are rendered in shorthand. The infamous "giant's drink" sequence, a psychological crucible in the novel, is a brief, confusing montage. The "mind game" itself, which served as a window into Ender's subconscious trauma, is barely a footnote. And then there is the ending. The novel's final act... the reveal of the "simulations" as real genocide—is a gut punch of moral horror that recontextualises everything that came before. In the film, it lands with a thud. The pacing is rushed, the emotional weight undercut, and Ender's subsequent journey of atonement is reduced to a montage. The film tells you what happened; the book made you feel it. The Unfair Comparison: I never review a movie comparing it to the book. Adaptations are their own art form, and fidelity is not the sole measure of success. But Ender's Game is a special case. The novel was never going to be easy to adapt. Its power is in its interior landscape, its slow burn psychological horror, its devastating moral questions. A two hour film was always going to struggle. And this film, for all its technical polish, simply cannot carry the weight of its source material. The Verdict: For a viewer coming to Ender's Game with no prior knowledge, this is a passable, visually engaging scifi film. It tells a coherent story, features solid performances, and has enough spectacle to hold attention. But for those of us who carried the novel for decades—who still think about it... the film is a hollow echo. It walks the beats without feeling the rhythm. It is 6/10: competent, professional, and utterly forgettable. A movie that does not resonate is, for a work that defined so much, a quiet tragedy. Watch if: You are unfamiliar with the novel and want a visually polished, straightforward scifi action film. Skip if: You hold the book close. You will find the experience frustrating, and the film will not give you what you need.