Review of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) by Jordan K — 11 Jun 2016

ET is one of Steven Spielberg's most beloved films and debatably one of his best. It has a great cast of characters, a nice atmosphere to it, and isn't too predictable - it's made to be iconic. Something about the plot, however, never stuck with me - its second half's energy feels as low as the characters feel in that half.

A Californian small town kid named Elliot finds an alien who has crash landed in his backyard. Taking him in as a pet and exposing him to his older brother and younger sister, they try to avoid from their mother and a scheming team of government alien specialists.

Spielberg has ton of a great films and is a revolutionary director. I would, without a doubt, consider him one of the greatest directors of all time - I personally think Tarantino tops him on certain films - and ET is no exception. Spielberg was on a roll with alien related films in his early years as a director and ET is one of the pinnacles of his career. From the moment Elliot and ET's great chemistry is introduced, the film shines as something bold and immediately classic. Scenes like that with pure magic to it are all throughout the film. ET's abilities being exposed is great to watch and the big scene of the film is the flying bike scene, the scene shown on every poster, advertisement, or merchandise. ET also shows great child acting in a field that is hard to work with. Drew Barrymore as a kid is notable in the cast and is often brought up in discussion with ET. ET really is great, but something about the second half of the film seems really off. (Spoilers, btw) When ET is found sick and dying by Michael, the tone of the film turns from magic to bleakness - honestly this is what the film is trying to accomplish and it works but the atmosphere of the scene where Elliot and ET are both lying sick and being examined, talking to each other and a bleak white room - what once was magic turns to an odd change of tone to off putting. The end makes up for it, but even then a lot of sadness in the tone feels off for a film with a lot of imagination and color to its first half. This really is only minor, but it takes up a good half hour of the film. It seems like the film still could have been really effective without it and the ending still stay the same. ET is one of Spielberg's best and is one of the greatest childrens films ever, with a great premise, great chemistry, and lovable characters - it still holds up very well today and ET still proves as iconic as ever.