Mass Effect III

This is not really a film at all, or a book. It’s a video game. Video games are a form of escapism and fantasy. This is no exception. It is set in an unspecified future during an inter-galactic war. There are all the clichéd humanoid alien characters typical of the genre. There is lots of fighting and extraordinary special effects. But there is empathy on two levels. First, this is how much of the current generation of teenagers in the developed world is spending their leisure time. That is worth experiencing. Second, this is an extraordinary game: it progresses through posing a series of choices, which carry consequences for future choices, and how your character, a leader during war, will affect the fate of others. Not only does this force one to confront moral and strategic dilemmas repeatedly, but it succeeds in suggesting that “life” is a blurred distinction.