Over-rated but still worth a look

Rating: 5/10 (21 July 2012)

I avoided the movie when it was first released because I thought to myself it's going to be about all these smart-aleck, over-talkative, full-of-themselves kids and how they saved this cute little Alien from the hands of the FBI. And if there's one thing I dislike it's a bunch of undisciplined, trick-or-treat kids who feel the world loves them to run riot and snap their fingers in the faces of authority. But when my local DVD store offered the Single Disc Special Edition for a mere $6.50, how could I pass it up? Yes, the movie was almost as bad in its storyline and characterizations -- even worse in fact, as the mother is presented as an even worse bimbo than her kids with not even half a brain in her skull -- but the little creature himself is anything but your usual cutesy-cutesy, and that in itself makes a very agreeable change. The movie's other main asset is John Williams who makes a sterling effort to save the day when the movie finally runs out of puff, plot and credibility!