VS.
PLOT - “Edge of Tomorrow” is about defense against an alien invasion. The Mimics have conquered Europe and are threatening Great Britain. A publicity agent for the United Defense Force named Cage is reluctant to embed with the invasion of France (he's a talker, not a fighter) so he is demoted and put in a squad that will be in the assault. The invasion is a disaster and Cage is killed, but ends up in a “Groundhog Day” situation where he dies and repeats the previous day. He hooks up with a woman warrior named Vrataski who had the same power, but lost it. They work together to get off the beach and destroy the alien brain. The plot is very inventive and yet maintains several tropes. Although it has some elements of the traditional squad war movie, there is little character development. After all, it is a Tom Cruise movie. But it is also a buddy movie with Cage and Vrataski saving mankind. There is some kick-ass combat which leads to the standard infiltration and decapitation scene. The movie is marred by a sappy ending. GRADE = A
“Ender’s Game” is based on a popular novel. The Earth is challenged by an alien race (think bugs from "Starship Troopers"). Humans were victorious, but the threat remains. To counter this threat the military is recruiting and training young people who have the ability to play a real-life video game that maneuvers the Earth fleet to victory. Ender is the chosen one. He goes through a young adult version of a war movie boot camp. He bonds with a feisty female and deals with a bully. He is pushed by a Machiavellian and mentored by a Jediesque figure. This leads to a climactic battle where Ender and his crew of teenagers attack the enemy planet. Unfortunately, the creative plot feels rushed and parts are not believable, even for a sci-fi movie. The character development is weak. In a nice twist, the movie shows some sympathy toward the aliens. GRADE = C
STRATEGY AND TACTICS - The Mimics apparently conquer Europe easily and seemingly are not content with that. One has to wonder what is stopping them. They are clearly superior to humans and a late scene indicates they can cross the Channel. They purposely lose a battle at Verdun to lure the UDF into a full-scale invasion of France. The Mimics can reset time to adjust strategy and tactics. As in most movies of this type, they are undefeatable if not for bad luck. The UDF strategy is to coordinate the invasion with the Eastern Front efforts of Russia and China. D-Day obviously influenced the script. The invasion is shows this as J Squad paradrops onto the beach and attempts to carve out a beachhead. There is no shore bombardment to speak of. There are no armored vehicles, although it is obvious that infantry are no match for the Mimic warriors. And, as usual, no use of nukes even though the movie makes it clear that Europe has been depopulated. The finale is a commando raid which is reminiscent of many traditional war movie suicide raids (think "Dirty Dozen"). GRADE = C
The movie, because it is aimed at a young adult audience, does not get deep into strategy and tactics. We know the enemy uses swarm tactics, as is common in sci-fi movies. Their strategy is unclear. The movie implies that the Earth leaders have demonized them and exaggerated their threat. On the other hand, in a nice twist, it appears the humans are determined on a pre-emptive attack to finish any threat the Formics might offer. Tactically, the book spent a lot of time on Ender's innovative tactics in the battle room, but the movie glosses over this. In the end, Ender is willing to sacrifice part of his fleet to infiltrate the enemy defenses. He controls the fleet as a gamer would, so most of the intended audience can relate to it. GRADE = D
WEAPONRY - EOT is set in 2015 (why?), but the movie provides the infantry with exoskeletons called “combat suits”. The suits are heavily armed. One arm has an assault rifle, another a triple barrel cannon. Above one shoulder is an autocannon and the other supports a 16 shot grenade/missile launcher. Overcompensation, fellas? The exoskeletons are realistic and cool. Rita uses an edged weapon because she is a bad-ass. The grunt Mimics are called drones and can fire explosive projectiles. They mainly kill by physical assault. GRADE = B
It is unclear what both sides armaments are. We are to assume they both have Star Wars type craft. Since Ender is not a pilot, but instead is something of an admiral, the movie does not dwell on the Device which is akin to the Star Wars’ Death Star beam. It’s a planet killer. GRADE = D
SPECIAL EFFECTS - The aliens are great and scary. The CGI is seamless and allows for realistic battles. The first invasion scene is one of the best combat scenes in a sci-fi war movie. There are some nifty explosions and general mayhem. The movie was nominated for a Saturn Award for Visual Effects and several awards at the Visual Effects Society Awards. GRADE = A
For a movie made in 2013 for over $100 million, the special effects are surprisingly lame. It is all CGI and has a video game look to it. The best effects are reserved for Ender’s mind game set in a fantasy world. The visuals are pretty amazing. Book readers will be disappointed in the depiction of the zero gravity “battle room”. Note no nominations for visual effects awards. GRADE = C
ANALYSIS: This was not much of a match. "Edge of Tomorrow" was one of the more inventive sci-fi offerings in a genre that is noted for imaginativeness. And the idea was carried out entertainingly with only a sappy ending marring it. "Ender's Game" also gets credit for being unique in its big plot device, but the finished product is missing the verve needed to leave the box and make an impression. As far as war movies, EOT is not an outstanding example of the genre. It is certainly more sci-fi than war, but strategy, tactics, and weaponry bear some semblance to a war movie. EG uses a military setting and situation to explore deeper themes and seems to give short shrift to military logic. The superior sci-fi movie and the superior war movie won this match.
EDGE OF TOMORROW = 33
ENDER'S GAME = 26
Totally agree!
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