Mawkish it may be, but it's a classic for a reason

Rating: 8/10 (29 December 2015)

E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL was one of those films that everybody took for granted as a child in the 1980s. Everybody had seen it, everybody loved it, everybody could reference it with the other kids knowing what they were talking about. Finding myself less than impressed than Steven Spielberg's overt sentimentalism, I wondered how I'd find it as an adult...
Well, I needn't have worried, because E.T. still hits the mark. Yes, it's mawkish and rather dated, but I think that's all part of the fun. This is the classic kid's film of the 1980s, in which the adults are portrayed as either out of touch or the enemy; it's the kids who have to band together to fight for justice, and the template works very well here.
Inevitably, the character of E.T. himself is what makes this film. The Carlo Rambaldi special effects still stand the test of time and the voice mannerisms are just right. Henry Thomas has a tough role, acting against an non-human for the most part, but he excels in the part and the frog scene is still excellent. Drew Barrymore is very effective too. E.T. is certainly a film that still manages to tug at the heartstrings with all of the increasing drama and that poignant ending, and I love it just as much as I always did.