Overly sentimental and manipulative tripe

Rating: 4/10 (13 August 2003)

I dislike E.T. because ever time I watch it, I feel like I'm being emotionally manipulated by a series of cutesy images, plot mechanisms that defy logic, and a score that is WAY over the top.
E.T. is supposed to be an intelligent being, capable of interstellar travel, but in this movie, he is relegated to the role, basically, of a child, and acts as such. I guess that's part of the point of the movie: the parallels between E.T. and Elliot (yes, I know: Elliot's initials are ET). That they are each lost and lonely, one in his own world, the other in a place far from home. But even understanding that does not make this movie any more palatable to me. I guess I wanted a more mature treatment of the little guy.
An example of the plot doing this movie in for me is arguably the most famous scene from this movie: the flying bicycles. The whole movie E.T. has presumably been in great danger of discovery, and is apparently unable to help himself. But when he and the kids are being chased on their bikes, not only is he able to levitate Elliot's bike, but all the rest of them, too! Sorry, but my reaction to that was `Where the HECK did that come from?' (For the record, and so you don't think I'm completely heartless, I do love the image of the bikes in front of the moon).
Lastly is John Williams' overpowering score. When I listen to his music as part of a movie, I feel like I'm being hit over the head with a sledgehammer.
All right, so I'm an ogre for not liking E.T., and my children will doubtless grow up to be delinquents, but it's the way I feel. I do think he took the easy way out in creating something with broad appeal: he did it not through character development and growth, but through a series of cute images and gimmicks.