Ender's Game and Last Starfighter are far more similar in tone and plot. But the Matrix has the potential for a whole debate about the nature of reality and perception that Last Starfighter doesn't in any way touch upon.
In LS, the protagonist plays an arcade game and his success at that game signals aliens that on Earth someone exists with the skill set they require to fight space battles. The protagonist (I could go find the novelisation or look it up on IMDB but can't be bothered) learns that the universe he thought he was part of at the start of the story has expanded massively in size by the end of it. But he can still visit his old universe (in fact, IIRC, he returns there to pick up the girl).
In the Matrix, the protagonist learns that the universe he thought he was part of doesn't exist in reality. And having learnt that, he can never return to his previous life.
I can't see how that makes the stories at all similar.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2003-05-08 04:07 pm (UTC)Ender's Game and Last Starfighter are far more similar in tone and plot. But the Matrix has the potential for a whole debate about the nature of reality and perception that Last Starfighter doesn't in any way touch upon.
In LS, the protagonist plays an arcade game and his success at that game signals aliens that on Earth someone exists with the skill set they require to fight space battles. The protagonist (I could go find the novelisation or look it up on IMDB but can't be bothered) learns that the universe he thought he was part of at the start of the story has expanded massively in size by the end of it. But he can still visit his old universe (in fact, IIRC, he returns there to pick up the girl).
In the Matrix, the protagonist learns that the universe he thought he was part of doesn't exist in reality. And having learnt that, he can never return to his previous life.
I can't see how that makes the stories at all similar.