Ender's Game

Synopsis: 50 years ago an alien race known as the Formics attacked Earth. They were beaten back and peace was restored. Fearful of another attack, Earth's powers-that-be recruit children such as Andrew “Ender” Wiggin (Asa Butterfield) to train in military tactics and maneuvers knowing that one day one of them will be called upon to defeat the Formics for good.

There’s lots of details peppered through this film that hint at a much larger canvas. Ender is a “third”, an illegal child where two is the maximum allowed by law. It’s only mentioned in passing a couple of times, and never completely explained, but on a planet where population is so strictly controlled, you get hints of the totalitarian culture. There’s also the simple fact that children are being recruited to military academies and gamed against each other to try and find the greatest tactical minds to lead warfleets. The logic (such as it is) is that children can process the vast array of information far better than adults. The fact that they’re being trained to view the whole thing as a game suggests an additional level of unease. But unlike the exemplar of dis-ease blended with rip-roaring entertainment, Paul Verhoeven’s Starship Troopers, the facist undertones of this story are very firmly kept in the background. Instead we get the fairly straightforward story of Ender Wiggin’s ascension to the rank of fleet commander. Ender proves to be an intriguing character - he’s calculating but compassionate, a good kid in a tough situation. I’m not sure that’s how he really should have been presented but that’s how it comes off.

When we first meet him, he’s playing a space combat simulation against a fellow student. He wins and the boy is upset, demanding a rematch. When it’s denied, he seeks revenge and attempts to beat up Ender. It doesn’t work out so well for the kid but the outcome impresses Colonel Graff (Harrison Ford). Ender explains that he beat the kid so badly: to win not just that fight, but all future possible fights.  And so Ender progresses from one class to the next, his advancement monitored and manipulated by Graff. The way that he is manipulated is not as dark as it could be but the determination of Graff to put him through ever more challenging adversities is disquieting.

Visually, the escalating logic of the games is smartly handled. Unfortunately, the film stumbles over its final moments. It’s completely coherent with the character of Ender and the narrative trajectory, but it isn’t well handled. There needed to be more effort put into seeding the core concept through Ender’s various battles. Basically put, when he defeats an enemy he feels like he fully understands them, and in that understanding, loves them. It’s a fairly dark idea involving domination as a form of love, and while it’s present at various points in the story, it’s underdeveloped. Had it been teased out more fully, the end would have had the punch it strives for, rather than feeling like an addendum to a darkly forbidding precursor scene.

Ender’s Game plays out like a sanitized version of a far grimmer tale, but for all my reservations, it’s a highly entertaining film that gives you a lot to chew on. If you like science fiction, go seek it out.

 

 

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