E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)

User Review

• 

  Barneyonmovies

  9 / 10

  WHAT I LIKED: ET is one of Spielberg's ultimate gems - a timeless story about a lost alien stumbling upon a group of kids who form a friendship with him and help him get home. It's a brilliant concept, but mostly it's charming because it has such an affection for its young characters as we get to see their pure, undying drive to do what's right, their joy in the simple things, and their intelligence when helping ET whilst steering clear of adult interferences. They're not naive these kids - they're as switched on as most young people really are - and they're all deeply caring, but the reason we understand all of that is not only because of what they do with ET, or because of the developed relationship they have with their mother; it's mainly because we see almost everything from their perspective.
  Ultimately that makes for not only a refreshing experience with young people portrayed so sympathetically on screen, but it also makes for something both joyous and thoroughly moving, and in the end for that we have to thank Melissa Mathison's script which develops its characters brilliantly, as well as Steven Spielberg who brings just the right amount of things to life (along with his young actors) with all of the joy, wonder and grounding in humanity you'd expect by this point in his career.
  Couple that with the fact ET himself is a wonderfully-realised character who unlocks Elliott and co's childhood brilliance perfectly (as well as the fact you've got yourself another masterful score from John Williams accompanying it all) in the end what you've got is one of the ultimate family movies, and definitely one of the best of Spielberg's career.
  WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE: It's a very hard movie to criticise this...
  VERDICT: A film with unbelievable sympathy for its young characters as we see almost everything through their eyes, 'ET' is one of the best family films out there, and it's ultimately the film that Spielberg seems born to have made.

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