Love letter to the early Spielberg films

Rating: Null/10 (7 February 2016)

What if E.T. had been caught by government agents and was then experimented upon for years before managing to escape? Okay, sure, that's not the exact story here, but it tells you the style and mood the film is going for. Or would have gone for, had Spielberg decided to make his legendary film with such a story back in the 80s. In many ways this film feels and acts like a retelling of that movie, even having Spielberg working on it as its producer.
And for the most part, it works. The story this time around is that a bunch of kids are looking to shoot a movie of their own for a film competition. One of them, Charles (Riley Griffiths), is a budding director, mad about stories and cameras, while the main character of the film, Joe (Joel Courtney), works as his special effects and makeup guy. They even manage to convince a cute girl from school, Alice (Elle Fanning), to act in their film. Then things take a turn for the weirder when they witness a train crash while shooting a train station scene. And before they know it, their small town is swarming with military and odd things start happening all around.
Very classic Spielberg, with bits and pieces of Stephen King thrown in for added flavour. But I mean that in a good way. It feels nostalgic, like something we haven't seen in decades, but which still feels instantly familiar and comforting. Sure its depiction of American small town life is very idyllic and romanticized, but it still deals with darker themes as well, with Alice coming from a rougher part of town and with Joe's problems with his dad, who's both absent and over-protective at the same time.
Unfortunately, while the film has the style and mood down pat, I'm not a huge fan of the story. A truly great film often works because you can identify with all the characters, no matter how strange or twisted they are. E.T. was very sympathetic and identifiable, but you could understand the point of view of the government agents as well. Not so much here. The antagonists are very unlikable, or aren't given any screen time for us to understand them. They're simply there because the film needs a villain, a monster for the kids to overcome. Sure, there are attempts by the script to make the villains more justified in their actions, but it's once again a case of telling, not showing, which makes it way less effective.
Still, I do like all the kid characters and most of the townsfolk are enjoyable as well. The film honestly looks amazing, has a good soundtrack and even story is by no means bad. It just doesn't quite live up to the films it's paying homage to.