It reminded me a little bit of Starship Troopers, a film based on a classic science fiction novel by Robert Heinlein that is set in the distant future, at a time when an alien race of bugs is threatening to destroy the human race.
I think Ender's Game reminded me of Starship Troopers because both films are based on classic science fiction novels set in the distant future, at a time when an alien race of bugs is threatening to destroy the human race.
Both films also deal with the impact of war on youth, when young people are called to sacrifice themselves for the good of the human race, which is threatened with extinction by an alien race of bugs. In Ender's Game the young hero is played by Asa Butterfield (from Hugo), and in Starship Troopers the hero is played by Casper Van Dien (from Starship Troopers).
Apart from the future war and the bugs, the protagonists are quite different. Asa Butterfield is the weedy nerd hero Ender Wiggin, while Casper Van Dien, whose very name is like a series of punches to the face, plays the total jock Johnny Rico.
But the similarities return with the tough, overbearing military father figure, who in Ender's Game is played by a growly, scowly Harrison Ford, and in Starship Troopers by a scowly, scowly Michael Ironside.
The other main difference is that Starship Troopers is awesome because it features the tactical absurdity of massed infantry carrying shoulder-mounted nuclear missiles and gleefully satirical fascist overtones, whereas Ender's Game has neither of these things. It takes itself much more seriously, even though the main character never seems to be put in any real danger since all the space battles are fought by remotely controlled drones. Also, the story ends with a shoehorned twist that didn't make much sense.
So, yeah, Ender's Game was okay, I guess. But it mostly made me want to watch Starship Troopers again.
