I will admit that I am a fan of the book, and recently read it after the gentle nudging of my two older brothers to do so. I really enjoyed the book. The only thing that was clearly homophobic in the novel was that the evil alien race that Ender was fighting against were called "Buggers." They were described as bug like creatures, but if you were well aware of Card's views when reading the novel, you were able to read between the lines. They did call them something else in the movie in a feeble attempt to clean that part up, but I don't remember what it is they are called.
Personally, I feel that because I enjoyed the book, that it's easy for me to take the "love the art but not the artist" approach to all of this. And, I do feel that while Card has had these views for years, the movie is bringing more light to these awful viewpoints. Harrison Ford, for example, was asked about Card's viewpoints regarding homosexuality since Ford's have been the total opposite from Card's. Ford said something along the lines of how Card views the issue of equal rights as a battle, an one that he admits that he lost and is willing to move on. Whether or not that was something that Card said to help out his movie (which producers have also gone on record for saying that they strongly disagree with Card) or he actually feels this was is something that we will never know for sure.
When I walked into the movie theatre last night, I didn't think of the views of the author or that it got tepid reviews overall (from what I managed to read.) However, I walked in knowing that I really enjoyed the novel, and was interested in seeing how the visuals of the novel were actually done compared to how I thought of them. Furthermore, let me say that I am very much well aware of the fact that when you bring a novel to the screen there's bound to be differences between the book and the movie. But, needless to say, I walked out. Now, it wasn't because I was expecting to see a literal translation of the book on the screen, I wasn't. I knew that the movie didn't get the best of reviews, and I walked in to the theatre hoping to enjoy a variation of a story I enjoy with fresh eyes. Well, after having done that, I feel that the reason why I walked out was because the movie wasn't any good at all. It didn't stand alone on its own merits. And, I am well aware that I may be contradicting myself when I say this, but I feel that it strayed too far away from the storyline and became its own freestanding tale, and one that wasn't very good, period. If you're curious at all about the story, I would highly suggest reading the books, this movie is a watered down, poorly made version of a story that I thought was otherwise good.
"If you try to shag my husband while I am still alive, I will shove the art of motorcycle maintenance up your rancid little Cu**. That's a good dear"
Tom Stoppard's Rock N Roll
