Review of Starman (1984) by Gordon C — 17 May 2009

E.T. for adults.

Fortunately for the film's budget, this E.T. is of the kind who can transform himself into an exact copy of a human (it's remarkable how so many aliens are able to do that).

Having done so, one wonders what the evil government agents expect to find if they actually managed to conduct an autopsy on him, as they seem to plan doing. After all, he's cloned a human body, so wouldn't an autopsy just reveal an ordinary human body?

Of course, there are a lot of things about the film which don't really make sense. Too many to list. But here's another example: how come a visitor from space who has learned how to say "Greetings" in 54 Earth languages allows his craft to be shot down by technologically inferior fighter jets without making any attempt to communicate? Once aground, it doesn't take him long to get in touch with one of the natives, so it can't be down to any aversion to contact per se.

Well, of course, it's just a silly movie. In the end, he tells Shermin that what he admires most about humans is that we're at our best when things are worst, a statement which leads me to suspect he hasn't spent enough time observing humans at their worst. But you can make up your own mind.