Now, I've not read the book, so I'm not coming to this project with any misty-eyed nostalgia for this universe or these characters. Butterfield did good work in Hugo, but is now hitting puberty, which has proved an insurmountable stumbling block for a number of child actors in the past. Kingsley is definitely in favour right now thanks to his fantastic work in Iron Man 3, but his previous outings in child-friendly sci-fi (Thunderbirds, anyone?) have left much to be desired.
South African director Gavin Hood started out well with his Oscar-winning Tsotsi, but Rendition was dull and may never be forgiven for his involvement in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. And then we come to Harrison Ford. Sure, he was Han Solo once (and may be again if you follow all the Star Wars VII talk, which I am already tired of), but most recently he did little more than stumble his way through Jon Favreau's sci-fi misstep, Cowboys and Aliens.
While normally I'm not interested in these teasers for trailers of movies, this one amused me because of the painfully stilted intro from Butterfield and Ford. Both deliver their lines as if they're being possessed by an alien marketing executive, but it's the way Butterfield goes to elbow prod Ford, as if this is the 15th take they've done and Ford keeps missing his cue, that tickled me.
Anyway, the Ender's Game trailer proper lands on Tuesday and the film opens on 1 November. Zero gravity battle rooms, teen angst, space, and facial tattoos like someone's been reading The Stars My Destination. Behold.