Ender’s Game Movie Review

In the future, an Alien race known as “buggers” resembling large ants attacked Earth. They nearly succeeded in taking over Earth when the brave soldier, Mazer Rackham, fired the winning shot and all other enemy ships mysteriously went down. Mazer’s name goes down in history as a hero.
Afraid of another attack, people started training soldiers, children. Monitoring them from a young age, they look for the perfect soldier. Ender, a young boy, exceeds in his studies and proves to be an exceptional fighter. His sister valentine, too compassionate for battle, and his evil brother Peter, too quick to violence, Ender is a perfect cross between his siblings and is excepted into battle school.
In battle school Ender immediately proves himself more than soldier worthy scoring top of the class with Bean and Alai not far behind.
Graff, captain and teacher from the battle school had monitored Ender for most of Ender’s life and is aware of his great potential. Though Graff tries to isolate Ender in attempt to make the perfect soldier, Ender makes a few friends along with a few Enemies. Bean, is a young genius, almost as talented as Ender. He also tends to be a little smart Aleck like when another launchie accused him of cheating and his comeback was “Your mom cheated. That's why you look like a plumber.” Which I think is the best line in the whole movie. Alai is one of Ender’s more compassionate and close friends. Petra is a little older than Ender and is extremely talented at shooting in battle. She and Ender soon become close and she becomes kind of like a mentor/ big sister type.
Though its great too have friends alone in outer space, Ender made some major enemies. Bonzo, commander of Salamander army is quick to hate Ender when the fledgling launchie is transferred to salamander army. Though it’s hard to see Bonzo as intimidating when Ender towers over him. Ender and Bonzo’s rivalry didn’t last long however, because of their deadly fight in the shower room, paralyzing Bonzo.
Graff pressures Ender too much, giving him his own army, constantly giving him battles to fight with him as the new commander of his own, dragon army. Ender’s life if filled with his studies, battles, and electronic battle games. Throughout his time in battle school, Ender undergoes emotional instability and is sick of being a soldier and sick of life at battle school, ready to quit. In attempt to help Ender make it though this Graff takes him back to Earth to meet with Valentine who has always been there for Ender and has come through for him again. His compassionate sister helps him make up his mind back on Earth and he decides to go back to battle school. However battle school is not where Graff takes him.
Ender graduates to command school located on the abandoned home where the buggers used to reside. Also Ender has a new teacher/mentor/enemy. Mazer Rackham.
Mazer informs Ender that things will be different now. Harder. He says that he will be programming all his battles from now on. This is when Ender’s real training begins.
That’s when Ender learns that he is not the only one graduated to command school. Petra, the o so loveable Bean, Alai, Bernard (a previous bully but now friend), and Dink (a soldier from Bonzo’s army) have come with him. They are now his toon leaders. Ender gives them the command and they tell their troops what to do. They win most battles, against the buggers every battle different than the last. Mazer constantly testing him, challenging him. That all led to the final battle, the final assessment that determines whether they will be moving on and graduating into a soldier.
The final assessment is when Ender realizes that it’s not a game anymore.