It isn’t fair to judge a movie adaptation based on how similar it is to a book. Books and movies are two different media. Both have strengths, and both have weaknesses. Judging a movie based on how accurate it is to the book is like judging a 10-year-old boy based on how organized he is compared to his father.
If you’ve read Enders Game, you know it is not a kids book. It tackles issues such as child abuse, mutiny, psychology and philosophy. It follows the story of a young man named Ender Wiggin, who has been bred to serve a single purpose – destroying an alien enemy that attacked earth years before his birth.
In the book, we see Ender as he is drafted into the academy, attends training camp thousands of miles above the atmosphere and is tested as a comrade. He is excommunicated from several different groups because jealousy over his talents, and ultimately, he defeats a more seasoned enemy than anyone has battled before.
Although the book is about a war, it has few elements of battle in it other than the training room where the young boys gather to participate in games that test their intelligence in a competitive environment. The book centres around the emotions of a boy who was forced into a life that has broken even the most seasoned commanders. It follows him as he deals with his separation from his parents, his beloved sister, who would take his place and in turn die for him, and his older brother, who wants nothing more than to see Ender dead.
The movie is the complete opposite. It does a brilliant job of showing Ender’s story in a timely fashion, given they only have roughly two hours to do so. The movie focused solely on the story and removed all philosophical elements. This led to it being very childish, as it had no character conflict and inner struggle.
These are completely different stories. They are aimed at completely different audiences and serve completely different purposes. Although the book was targeted to adults who can understand the child who has gone through all these troubles, the movie is merely an excellent children’s action flick.
