A cut above

Here is a SciFi movie which stands high above the rest

Intuitive proaction, lightning reactions and the ability to handle multi-faceted simultaneous data input are the demands that are recognised in the not too distant future as essential requirements for military leadership.

The people who are most qualified are identified as teenagers who have been brought up on computer games and have no adult baggage – best among them, Ender Wiggins (Butterfield), a quiet boy who is taken from his family and sent to battle school for assessment and training.

Students at the school who attempt to bully him bring out a tactical ability that is completely outside the box. More importantly, they discover a killer instinct designed to ensure that they never again think of bothering him.

Overseeing it all is Col Graff (Ford), who has been tasked with finding a suitable commander to take on and destroy the Formics.

This is an alien race which 70 years before had nearly annihilated humans in an invasion and would have done so if not for the bravery of New Zealander Mazer Rackham (Ben Kingsley who looks fierce in “Ta moko”, the Maori facial tattoo).

The Formics are regrouping – seemingly to attack the Earth again – and, racing against time, Graff fast-tracks Ender through command school and into final selection.

South African director Gavin Hood, who with Orson Scott Card wrote the screenplay, has done an admirable job of pulling it all together into a movie which is worth watching and should appeal to all ages.