Movie Review: Ender's Game(2013)

Ender's Game is my pick for top science fiction film of 2013. Unlike something such as Star Trek: Into Darkness, it felt like a legitimate contribution to the genre, exploring themes of war, peace, love, the military, and child soldiers.

Ender is a boy who is expelled from school for fighting a bully and kicking him while he was down. This causes him to be recruited by Colonel Harrison Ford, who admires Ender's ability to battle strategize; he didn't kick the bully after the fight was won because he enjoyed it but because he knew that it would prevent all future fights from happening. This is relevant to Earth's defense, as an alien species who attacked years ago appear to be mounting another offensive; they need to be dealt with in a way that will prevent future danger. And so Ender attends a military academy in a space station, where very young cadets are training for military command (apparently the computing power of youth is seen to outweigh the benefits of experience in terms of military leadership).

What I found to be the most interesting theme of Ender's Game was that of knowing one's enemy (and subsequently coming to love them), which Ender seems to master. He finds that when he understands his enemies, he also comes to understand each one of them as another self and their reasons for their self love. In this way, Ender himself comes to love them. This puts him in an awkward position when he has to fight his enemies, one that results in anxiety and regret.

Another theme, one I find especially relevant to world issues today, is the idea of preventative war and under what conditions, if any, it can be justified. How should foreign policy be conducted? Out of fear? With demonstrations of power? Perhaps with empathy? It is my hope that stories like Ender's Game will spark many a discussion of how to think of others as equals who deserve the same respect. (For example, most Americans would not stand for a foreign military having a base on US soil, so why is it hard for them to understand why foreigners might not want US bases in their neighborhoods?)

As well, Ender's Game is entertaining. It is almost like a Harry Potter scenario except where kids learn battle strategies instead of witchcraft and play an interesting sport slightly more plausible than quidditch. It is well-paced; no scene seemed out of place and Ender's ability to gain the respect and loyalty of his fellow cadets feels authentic rather than something the script simply dictates happening.

At no point did Ender's Game feel cliché or like a rip-off of a story we have heard before. It really is science fiction at its finest, and it comes highly recommended.