I just finished watching this movie about an hour ago, and my reaction of it is…mixed. I will have to say that it didn’t utterly suck. Generally, there is an instinct for that when you are watching a bad film, and I have a feeling that repeated viewing of this film will either proclaim it a masterpiece or make me hate it even more.

Ender’s Game is based on a book that won awards when it was published in the mid-eighties. In fact, I would have to say that it was my favorite book in high school, when I was reading a lot of science-fiction. I had no idea what to expect from this story, and don’t be fooled by the poster, it is not Star Wars.

The story takes place in a future world that has recently survived an alien invasion. There has since been no return invasion, but the government of the world has begun training soldiers for a potential intergalactic war, starting with young children. Apparently, the world’s government is a military state, and they are trying to train a future war hero. They see potential with Ender Wiggin, and he is recruited into Battle School, located in orbit around Earth. Here, Ender learns how to fight wars by playing battle games in anti-gravity, and he is closely watched by a Colonel named Graff to insure that Ender becomes this great war hero.

In other words, the government is deliberately trying to create a Ceasar, Napoleon, or Genghis Khan, in order to prepare for a war which may or may not occur. I’m not certain whether or not this is supposed to be a symbol of cold war politics, but now, it comes off as being anti-Patriot act.

In all honesty, I am not certain why I liked this book so much as a kid. I think it is because in the book, you really get into the mind of Ender, and you can see how scared he really is in spite of his brave front. In the movie, you don’t often see a sensitive side of Ender, and this works against the film. You do get to see a lot of Graff, a peripheral character from the book who is played very well by Harrison Ford. Considering Ford’s resume as Han Solo and Indiana Jones, it is interesting to see him play his senior years as “the war monger” in this film.

This film differs from the book as an important sub-plot between Ender’s brother and sister has been deleted. Fans of the book are going to really notice that one as strongly as I did. The set-up for the sequel was changed as well, but in all honesty, I have never been able to get through Speaker for the Dead, the sequel to Ender’s Game. I’m guessing this film didn’t do well to merit a sequel, which is a shame, because it wasn’t bad. The problem is, it isn’t that good.