Before seeing the film, I had a study group session, and one of my buddies in our group mentioned that he had read several of the book’s in Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game series. He said the theme was empathy, and, outside of that and the hubbub surrounding Card’s controversial comments on same-sex marriage, was about the only thing I knew going into the film.

And now, having seen it, I can see bits of that theme peeking through, but ultimately director Gavin Hood (X-Men Origins: Wolverine) appears to have traded depth for spectacle.

In the semi-distant future, following an attack by an alien species known as the Formics, the countries of Earth have placed their best and brightest in the International Fleet academy, a military training ground that’s preparing for the next potential invasion.  A. E. Wiggin (Asa Butterfield) a precocious youngster with a talent for strategy, is put through a series of tests administered by Colonel Graff (Harrison Ford), a tough commander who nonetheless sees Ender as the one to ultimately lead the fleet to victory. Overcoming loneliness and antagonism from his peers, Ender continually proves himself through a gauntlet of war games, all throughout questioning the true intentions of his leaders.

Entertainment wise, Ender’s Game delivers. The various war games provide a fun parade of sequences for Hood to show how Ender outsmarts nigh-impossible odds (though, for all his apparent brilliance, Ender’s solutions do seem to rack up the casualties), particularly with one scene involving a weightless battle sphere. The cadets compete against each other to make it through the other team’s gate without getting shot by the opposing players’ tag-guns.

The first clip of director Gavin Hood’s adaptation of Ender’s Game is here and it looks pretty promising. Though not a Battle Room scene like some fans may have been hoping for, we do get Harrison Ford’s gravely voice as Colonel Hyrum Graff.

He narrates the actions of the legendary Mazer Rackham (Ben Kingsley) during the second invasion of the buggers. The heroic and mysterious Rackham will later become Ender’s (Asa Butterfield) mentor.

Based on the award-winning bestseller by Orson Scott Card, Ender’s Game also stars Abagail Breslin as Valentine, Ender’s sister; Hailee Steinfeld as Petra Arkanian, Ender’s friend at Battle School; and Viola Davis as Major Anderson.

The film is due in theaters November 1. Check out the video after the break.

Of all the military sci-fi novels out there yet to be made into movies, I’ve always wanted to see an adaptation of Joe Haldeman’s The Forever War. I would also like to see John Scalzi’s Old Man’s War made into a movie or heck, even another try at taking Robert A. Heinlein’s Starship Troopers to the big screen.

That said, in spite of Orson Scott Card’s ridiculous personal opinions, his Ender’s Game is also a pretty great sci-fi novel it its own right, so a big screen adaptation of it is still a welcome development. That’s just what Summit Entertainment has done and to kick things off they’ve released the first trailer for the movie.

In it we get our first real look at Ender Wiggin (Asa Butterfield), a shy, complex and conflicted boy who turns out to be a military genius, and the rest of the supporting cast including Harrison Ford as Colonel Hyrum Graff and Ben Kinsley as Mazer Rackham. Truth be told, this looks pretty good and I look forward to seeing more.

Check out the trailer after the jump. Look for Ender’s Game in theaters on November 1.

Good news for all you Ender’s Game fans out there as there is finally some forward motion on the film. Ender’s Game has had a long journey getting from a novel to the big screen and finally has a production blog. Even though there is only a single image posted so far, producer Roberto Orci promises to have exclusives from the film over the next year. This would include guest appearances by well known cast members.

For those of you unfamiliar with the Orson Scott Card book series, here is a synopsis. Set in Earth’s future, the plot presents an imperiled humankind who have barely survived two conflicts with the Formics, an insect like alien species that are usually called “Buggers”. These aliens act much like gigantic super smart Earth ants and are very protective of their queen. In preparation for an anticipated third invasion, an international fleet maintains a school to find and train future fleet commanders.

In just over a year’s time, you can expect Orson Scott Card’s name to join the likes of Suzanne Collins and George R.R. Martin as some of the best modern authors who have successfully crossed the threshold into the Film and TV medium. Card’s entry, of course, is the Ender’s Game series.

We got word a while back that Ben Kingsley is set to join the cast, which is a big name within itself, but now that’s getting completely squashed with the news that Harrison Ford and Little Miss Sunshine’s Abigail Breslin are joining the cast. From Variety.

Ford will play Colonel Hyram Graff, who’s in charge of training the young male recruits at an elite military academy. Breslin will play Valentine Wiggin, Ender’s older sister, while Steinfeld will play Petra Arkanian, Ender’s ally and trusted right hand.

Gavin Hood (“X-Men Origins: Wolverine”) is directing from his own script, which is adapted from Orson Scott Card’s award-winning novel. Summit Entertainment is co-financing and will release the film in the U.S. on March 15, 2013.

Set in Earth’s utopian future, “Ender’s Game” stars Asa Butterfield (“Hugo”) as the title character, a genius strategist who’s recruited by the government to help destroy an insect-like alien race.

Let’s hope this film doesn’t follow the critical responses that Ford’s last two sci-fi films, Indiana Jones & The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and Cowboys & Aliens, because those were definitely not the quality Ender fans will be looking for come March.