Childlike Wonder and Nostalgia: A Modern Look at E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial
“These are the movies people have remembered forever, and for a reason.”
E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial was released in 1982, directed by Steven Spielberg, and focuses on a young boy named Elliott who comes across an alien that he befriends and connects with on a personal, psychological, and psychic level. Together with his siblings, Elliott must secretly harbor the gentle creature from a relentless government agency determined to capture and study it, leading to a race against time to help E.T. build a communication device to “phone home.”
I’ve been going through Spielberg’s filmography. Right now, I’m in his heavy-hitters stage... the movies we’ve all seen a million times and can practically recite from heart. E.T. is among his most beloved and iconic films and characters of all time. This film had one of the longest theatrical runs in American history, at over a full year uninterrupted in theaters.
This review is going to be an odd one, because I like to review for a modern audience who hasn’t seen a movie. I don’t know of any single person, other than some kids, who has never seen this movie. And those who haven’t or have chosen not to see E.T. have likely known enough about it overall to make it seem like they HAVE seen it. So, I’m just going to do what I normally do with these reviews and... act like you don’t know what this movie is.
Like so many others out there, E.T. is a film I grew up with. I remember distinctly seeing it so many times as a kid. And when the Atari first came out, I remember the video game for E.T.... and I remember it being awful, but still... iconic in its own right.
I’ve always held the belief that Spielberg alien movies are his bread and butter... especially when he’s not trying to be snooty and make Oscar-bait films that are slow, stuffy, and boring... even if they are made well. When he just lets loose and makes a movie for the heck of it... these are the movies people have remembered forever, and for a reason. In my personal opinion, he always wins when it comes to alien films. Close Encounters, E.T., War of the Worlds, and probably his next film, Disclosure Day. To me, that’s just so undeniably Spielberg.
E.T. is like... the family-friendly, kid version of Close Encounters. Close Encounters is, for the most part, also family-friendly, but not like E.T. E.T. has that childlike, youthful innocence, awe, and wonder... and honestly, just... pure, unadulterated fun. It has this endless feeling of magic from beginning to end, and most of this is seen through a couple of things.
The film is primarily focused through the lens of Elliott, played by Henry Thomas. Just like in Close Encounters, where Richard Dreyfuss is a very relatable, blue-collar guy, Henry Thomas is a very relatable child, and I think a lot of kids watching the movie will be able to relate to him. Past that, a lot of this movie is shot low to the ground... no higher than a child’s height, or E.T.’s height... which further gets the audience into that mindset.
You also get the feeling very early on that Elliott is a lonely kid. He’s got family and he’s got siblings, but he is often ignored, like he is in the beginning of the movie. Nobody really understands him. Nobody speaks to him on his level... and when E.T. shows up, they just automatically bond. They are one and the same.
Sometimes that’s really funny, like when E.T. gets drunk, and so does Elliott at school. Sometimes it is undeniably sad, like when E.T. starts to get sick and starts to die, and Elliott likewise starts to do the same. The film is a roller coaster of emotions, especially for kids watching. It’s a really good movie for kids because it’s not just dumb, fun entertainment. It has real depth, emotion, and character development that kids might not understand right away, but will appreciate later in life.
The story is a bit empty, I think. It’s more of a coming-of-age story than it is a traditional narrative. Yes, there is a “phone home” storyline which comes into play later in the film, but in my opinion, maybe it should have been introduced earlier. It’s a very small complaint at the end of the day, though. I think for the most part, this movie is pretty darn flawless, and one of a handful of 5-out-of-5-star Spielberg movies that exist.
Technical/Unbiased Score: 47/50 or 94%
Entertainment/Biased Score: 48/50 or 96%
Total/Overall Score: 95/100 or 95% (or 5/5 on Letterboxd)