Netflix Sci-Fi Adaptation From Controversial Author Asks Difficult Moral Questions
Ender’s Game is one of the many novels that was deemed “unfilmable,” but director Gavin Hood manages to make a decent film that presents us with some of the heady questions that the novel brings up. Of course, the other moral quandary that comes up when watching the film is its association with the novel’s infamously anti-LGBT author, Orson Scott Card. But, if you’re able to separate the art from the artist and take solace in the fact that Card reportedly doesn’t get any money for the film anymore, you can check it out on Netflix.
Humans vs. Aliens
Ender’s Game takes place in a world where Earth is attacked by an alien race called Formics, which are staved off thanks to the heroic Mazer Rackham (Ben Kingsley). Asa Butterfield stars as the titular Ander “Ender” Wiggin, a gifted child who is sent to a military academy to become the next Mazer. The film also stars Harrison Ford, Hailee Steinfeld, Viola Davis, Abigail Breslin, Aramis Knight, Moises Arias, and Khylin Rhambo.
Better Than The Box Office Makes You Think
While Ender’s Game was a box office bomb and received relatively mixed reviews upon its release, it’s not a wholly bad adaptation of its lauded source material. The film has some pacing issues and doesn’t always quite capture the moral questions raised in the books, but it does manage to stick the landing and leave you thinking as the credits roll. There are a lot of sci-fi movies that try to do that and fail, and Ender’s Game should get points for doing that while also avoiding the trap of turning the source material into a soulless blockbuster.
The Controversial Author
Unfortunately, the themes of inclusion on display in Ender’s Game and the book that it’s based on don’t extend to the beliefs of its author, Orson Scott Card. Card has extremely anti-LGBT views, and the team behind the film has done their best to distance the film from the book’s creator. Producer Robert Orci said that “the movie should be judged on its message, not the personal beliefs of the original author.”
The Film Distanced Itself
Lionsgate echoed Orci’s sentiments and said that the studio doesn’t align with Card’s views, plus there’s the fact that Card apparently was barely involved with the making of the Ender’s Game movie. As mentioned, he also got paid for the movie years ago but no longer receives commissions or residuals from it. At the very least, you can enjoy the movie knowing the author isn’t getting any money from it.
Streaming On Netflix
REVIEW SCORE
It’s unfortunate that Card’s views hang over Ender’s Game, both the film and the book, because the movie is fairly decent, and the book is loved by many. Ender himself is even viewed as a queer character who depicts many of the struggles faced by LGTBQ youth. It’s another unfortunate case of those who relate to a popular story having to separate the art from the artist if they want to continue enjoying it unfettered.
In any case, if you want to see a decent adaptation of Ender’s Game, then you could certainly do worse than this film. Given Card’s views, it’s unlikely that any studio is going to want to touch another adaptation, so this will likely be the only one that is made. You can now stream it on Netflix.
