"Ender's Game" - A Review

If you were in a position of power and an alien race was posing a threat to humanity's existence, how far would you be willing to go in order to ensure the survival of the human race? This incredibly hypothetical scenario forms the thematic basis for the 2013 adaptation of Orson Scott Card's novel Ender's Game. Colonel Graff (Harrison Ford) has been given the responsibility to build a team that will keep humanity safe from aliens known as the Formics who attacked Earth years ago. While overseeing the training of cadets who are barely even teenagers, one of the boys stands out amongst the others: Ender Wiggin (Asa Butterfield). Seeing in Ender a potential savior for humanity, Graff will stop at nothing to ensure that Ender receives the respect (or fear, if necessary) of his peers so that Ender can lead Earth in the battle against the Formics.

Graff's methods are quite unorthodox and at times morally ambiguous. Major Gwen Anderson (Viola Davis) does her best to rein him in, but he will not let anyone deter him. "When it's over what will be left of the boy?" Anderson asks Graff of Ender. "What does it matter if there isn't anything left?" Graff responds.

In contrast, there is Ender, who does his best to do the right thing. Ender dreads that he will become like his violent brother, and so he endeavors to balance the fighter in him with compassion. Ultimately, Ender is the film's moral compass, and this creates tension between him and Graff. Their relationship (and the competing ethical approaches the film presents) are summed up in an exchange between these two characters where Graff tells Ender that all that matters is winning. "No," Ender replies. "It matters how we win."

Here is the crux of the film. It explores two very different ethical approaches. Graff represents the belief that our actions do not matter if the end result is for the greater good. Ender, on the other hand, gives us a representation of the belief that there are absolutes and that we should do what is right even when it is not the easiest course of action. The film depicts Ender as the one who is in the right, and in this respect he ends up becoming something of a role model.

However, some of Ender's actions on his journey to becoming a role model are not so worthy of praise. He stops a boy from insulting someone else by insulting the boy back. He brutally beats up a bully who attacks him, and accidentally kills another bully. Ender may be a hero, but he is a flawed hero.

With all of that said, this is an excellent film. The cast give emotional performances, especially young Butterfield. The visual effects are stunning, and the storytelling is well done. I have not read the novel that this film is based on, but I have read that a lot of people who have read the book hate this movie because it is unfaithful to the source material. This is unfortunate, since it adds this movie to the ever-growing list of good films that are considered to be terrible because it wasn't faithful to the source material. It is still a great film, however, and I think it is unfortunate that time will probably forget it due to the backlash from the book's fans. At any rate, if you have read the book and haven't seen this, you probably shouldn't see this unless you're willing to treat it as a film that is completely separate from the book. A film inspired by the book, if you will. For everyone else, go watch this. It's a great film despite being a bad adaptation, and so it is very entertaining for someone who has never read the book.

NOTE TO PARENTS: Despite the good qualities of this film, it is not necessarily a family-friendly film. If you would like to know about the content of this film in order to decide on the appropriateness of the film for your children, please check out Plugged In Online's excellent review of the film here.