Viewed in
1998, 2011
Formats
VHS, HDTV
Premise
E.T. phone home!
Loved
E.T. and Drew Barrymore.
Liked
Special effects.
Thoughts
After all these years, it still holds up remarkably well, especially the first half.
I could watch this over and over again for two reasons: E.T. and Drew Barrymore. Both are irresistibly adorable who make you want to squeeze them forever. Director Steven Spielberg created one of the most lovable and memorable characters of all time. Innocent aliens in movies were and still are rare. To have one that's enchanting and genuine without being campy or dated is one of a kind.
Spielberg did two great things here. First was using special effects that still endure. The execution of puppetry and "dude in suit" was so well-done that E.T.'s character still looks and feels real, rarely taking me out of the moment. The other great thing was his ability to evoke the audience's primal emotion of sympathy. All the tear-jerking moments, even the undeserving ones, hit the right notes. Even after multiple viewings, my heart get tugged every time.
There were massive flaws. For example, all the adult characters sucked. They were either absent or serving the plot. As for the plot itself, there were quite a few holes, such as why the scientists (or whoever the hell the men in white were) never confiscated the communicator. The writing was all bad, there were some really intelligent stuff about how a lost alien would behave, and some creative sci-fi themes about linked emotions.
Probably the biggest issue for me was that I never loved Henry Thomas as Elliot. He felt like an actor playing a kid, which was all the more starkly apparent compared to Barrymore's natural charm.
E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial withstands the test of time, and its uneven writing, due to timeless performances by E.T. and Barrymore, and Spielberg's great execution.
What I would change
Made the adult characters smarter.
