Review:

ET is on of those movies that doesn't really transcend time like some of Steven Spielberg's other movies (like Jurassic Park). The story of a young boy who finds an alien who was left behind and has to help him get back home is classic and heart felt, but I feel like tastes and standards have changed too much for ET to hold up over fifteen years later. All of the effects are just terrible. The alien puppets and costumes look awful and there are so many times you can tell the actors are either against a green screen because you can even see a slight white outline around them. The acting isn't really great either. Henry Thomas, who plays the main character Elliot, is bad. Surprisingly, the only time Thomas doesn't do a shit job is when he has to be sad, which is usually where child actors are the worst (Thomas actually was cast because of an audition where he had to improvise an emotional scene reminiscent of a big scene in ET). Drew Barrymore (who is roughly seven here) is so damn cute and isn't overused so her character was easily the highlight. As I said, the actual story of ET has a lot of heart but for 115 minutes, it's lacking punch. There are a few iconic scenes, but it was easy for me to realize why I barely remembered anything about this movie I saw in 1990-something. Very little happens and what does escalates way too fast. It's almost two hours long and we barely get any characterization for any of the characters and nothing ever felt real. We get minor defining details about Elliot, but the rest of the movie is undefined. It's not presented as being from Elliot's point of view, but it feels like it was because we get no science or government information when they are introduced and we instead get extended scenes about Elliot being picked on. I love Science Fiction and Fantasy because I can fully immerse myself and get lost in the world, but ET almost seems designed to prevent that. It's a very kid-friendly and simple story that follows a strict, straight path and never deviates to flesh out the story or explain anything. They had almost two hours to build a world, but instead spent it all on sentimental cheese, which is something I hate. I can't stand "feel good movies" and saccharine, unearned emotional scenes and ET is trying to hit all those notes. In 1982, I could see being awed by the CG highlight scenes (like the iconic flying bicycle scene), but in 2019, they look amateur. Maybe it's the overabundance or Spielberg schmaltz and the bare story or maybe it's a lack of nostalgia for the movie on my part, but ET just didn't really work for me.