Forever a classic...

Rating: 10/10 (28 May 2002)

E.T. the Extra Terrestrial is the best family movie ever made. It's something everyone can enjoy no matter how old you are. Now, children who are too young to have seen it when it was first released (like myself), get to see it on the big screen with never before seen footage, a new soundtrack, and special effects enhancements.
A spaceship lands on Earth and little brown men venture out to study this strange planet. When a group of government officials show up, the aliens flee leaving one behind by accident. This alien is known as E.T. when is found by a young boy, Elliot (Henry Thomas). He shows his brother Michael (Robert MacNaughton) and his sister Gertie (Drew Barrymore), but they keep it a secret from their mother (Dee Wallace). They teach E.T. to talk and Elliot develops a strong bond with the little creature. A bond so strong, that E.T. can communicate with Elliot through his mind. Whatever E.T. is feeling, Eliot feels. This is demonstrated in a classic scene in which E.T., at the house, discovers beer and gulps down about three of them. Eliot, at school, gets drunk as well and lets out all of the frogs they are about to dissect in science class. E.T. begins to grow sick as the government officials start to find E.T.'s hiding place.
E.T. is an absolute classic. Seeing it on the big screen was like seeing it for the very first time. I have one thing to gripe about, though. The new enhancements to E.T.'s face are both distracting and unnecessary. They are obvious, like the great scene where E.T. says, `E.T. phone home.' It would have worked better if they just made the enhancements to eyes, rather that the entire face. The new scene is funny and doesn't slow up the pacing of the movie. At least it wasn't as bad as the whole `Greedo shoots first' scene in the rerelease of Star Wars.
The reason no other family film has come close to being as great as E.T. is because Steven Speilberg had faith in his kids. He wasn't afraid to add scary scenes or touchy language. He adds emotion and sympathy to his characters. But now, family films are all about slapstick and toilet humor, which E.T. is thankfully missing.
I love E.T. It's charming and smart. It's a film where one laughs, cries, and conjures up about every emotion known to man. Stephen Speilberg is the best storyteller of them all. The rerelease of E.T. is greatly appreciated, but the annoying enhancements are not. If it's not broken, don't fix it.---------10/10