HE is one of the most charming young heroes since Harry Potter. Like Potter, he is chosen by fate to carry out a mission, but unlike the boy wizard, he doesn’t get any chances to have fun or hang out with friends because he’s a little too busy preparing to lead during an upcoming war to save the Earth. Meet Ender Wiggin, 15, the main character of the hit US sci-fi movie Ender’s Game (《安德的游戏》), which will come out on Jan 7 in China. The story opens in 2086, 50 years after an insect-like alien race, called the Formics, attacked the Earth and killed tens of millions of people before being driven back to their home planet. Since then, human beings have been in a state of fear, awaiting a second attack. Earth’s military leaders seek young warriors to risk going into space for battle, and children are taught to compete for these positions. As the film explains, youths can make leaps of logic and intuition, devising effective attack strategies more quickly than adults. So here comes Ender, the savior (救世主) of all mankind. Though Ender is a skinny kid, smaller than most, he is also smarter than average. He tends to analyze situations and easily find ways to achieve the most positive outcomes. This rare gift makes him stand out in the program and get promoted to the Battle School, where he is directed to plan and carry out a series of virtual attacks on the Formics. Can he use his military talents to wipe out Earth’s enemies? Despite the obvious “be all you can be” subtext (潜台词), the movie “explores complex issues, including the consequences of violence and maintaining humanity and morality during wartime with intelligence and insight,” commented Yahoo. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the film best presents the power of empathy (感情移入), which is what makes Ender a good leader. “The reason Ender succeeds is because he understands what makes his opponents tick (有某种行为) on the battlefield,” explained the entertainment news site. 小题1:The underlined words “a mission” in the first paragraph probably refer to “______”.
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