Ender's Game

In the 2013 sci-fi film adaptation of Orson Scott Card's classic novel Ender's Game, humanity is recovering from a devastating near-extinction event fifty years prior caused by an alien species known as the Formics ("Buggers"). To prepare for an inevitable second invasion, the International Fleet recruits exceptionally gifted children, training them from a young age in tactical command. Andrew "Ender" Wiggin (Asa Butterfield), a quiet but exceptionally brilliant strategist who balances the sheer ruthlessness of his brother with the deep empathy of his sister, catches the eye of Colonel Hyrum Graff (Harrison Ford). Recruited into Battle School in Earth's orbit, Ender undergoes rigorous mental testing and leads his peers through zero-gravity war games in the Battle Room. Constantly isolated and pushed past his mental breaking point by the military brass, Ender is fast-tracked to Command School, where legendary commander Mazer Rackham (Ben Kingsley) trains him to lead a squad of young tacticians—including Petra Arkanian (Hailee Steinfeld)—in high-stakes, simulated fleet simulations. Unbeknownst to Ender, the line between tactical war games and horrifying reality is far thinner than he was led to believe.