MovieChat Forums > E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) Discussion > Totally over rated movie

Totally over rated movie

posted 13 years ago by ShoeBuckle
100 replies | jump to latest

I did not watch the movie when it was released in the theater or on media. Today I finally watched it. It is horribly done in direction, writing, and acting. If you watch it again I will bet you won't think it is quite as good as you remember it. There is a reason for this because it is so weakly delivered. It is your memory of the film that gives it such a high score. This is not a classic film because it does not stand the test of time. It is now a B-film at best.

[–] fiatlux-1 12 years ago

Whether the OP is a troll or not, I have to say this is an odd movie for me.
I watched it in the theater in 1982, I was 7. I liked the film very much then, the ending was one of the most touching endings I had seen.
There literally wasn't a dry eye in the theater.

Watching it as an adult, I must say its odd for me. The beginning and the ending are superb, some of the best films can offer!
But the middle drags and drags, and I am a person who loves to watch films 'build'.

The ending is STILL one of the most touching endings ever made. I've never seen 2 words have such an emotional impact:
E.T: "Come."
Elliott: "Stay."

"I'd say this cloud is Cumulo Nimbus."
"Didn't he discover America?"
"Penfold, shush."

[–] arksun1 12 years ago

I watched it when it first came out in the cinema and was crying.

Now I watch it today and if anything it's even more of an emotional experience. Easily a top 100 movie. Soo many powerfully funny and sad moments in a beautiful charming way. Gotta be pretty soulless to not be moved by this masterpiece imho.

[–] vader23-121-645282 12 years ago

Nearly 10 years on, I just watched it twice in one week in the lead-up to Christmas, and I enjoy it even MORE. The acting is top-notch, Spielberg told Henry Thomas to think about his grandma dying so you get the raw emotion and realism, Barrymore showed the early signs of her acting brilliance, it's most certainly withstood the test of time.

"We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl"

[–] Youmoron 12 years ago

If you look at the film reviews the OP has done, They all have far more down votes then up votes. So I would not take his opinion very seriously.

It seems no one else on this site does.

[–] sized-2 12 years ago

Hilarious. Talk about calling the kettle black. All your posts are meant to cut others down and make yourself to appear superior.

[–] fluffset 11 years ago

yeah, maybe. But this is 80s movie which is so relevant at that time. When we watch this in 2010++ ( I just watch this in 2013), we will not anymore think that this is good because we have seen a lot of modern sci-fi movie with great CGI. Its not fair to place e.t as a B-movie, just like you compare Singin' In the rain with Step up. JMO.

[–] jajceboy 11 years ago

I actually think it's totally under-rated, but that's just me.

Considering it's so loved and praised by people and critics it's strange it doesn't have a higher rating.

Then again, it shouldn't come as such a surprise when most of the voters on IMDB comes from fan-boys to various modern science-fiction franchises who refuse to find anything before the 00's exciting.

[–] dan181818 11 years ago

Seriously overrated, gave it a 5/10. Do t really see how thIs is a good movie. It is a movie for 5 year olds, no more. Horrible CI, models, the plot is crap, it all looks so cheap and unreal. I just wanted the kid to be locked up and the alien sent back. I mean seriously, a guy in a space suit storms a house? No one guards a gateway into a closed area? No one guards an ALIEN? And the kid was so stupid, instead of letting the doctors help the alien he tried to stop them. That's why kids aren't meant to be interstellar representatives of Earth. A bad movie anyway in my opinion.

[–] hewhoknowsallbutnot 11 years ago

The movie I don't think is overrated. With age its popularity has declined like many summer blockbuster. My problem is with ET's power to bring things back to life. Is ET the messiah, or God? What about the idea behind the movie poster which obviously is inspired by the painting of God and man on the Sistine Chapel. I always thought Spielberg's fantasy was to have aliens come down on the earth and save humankind...like Scientology.

Why it does have a place in film history, is the same reason why Star Wars does.

It was the first time...really...a director could put his imagination fully on film with the magic of special effects. Sure the effects are dated but so is the entire picture. Back when it was released it was impressive.

Second the story was a kids film treated as a big budget drama.

Third the film score of John Williams.

You can talk about the greatness of Spielberg until the cows comes home; and though he deserves the credit for making the film (and in my opinion the Oscar) the film's success is largely based upon those three factors. Spielberg was the right guy at the right time to make that movie.

[–] maxi-foo 11 years ago

Underrated, 7.9 is not enough, E.T should be atleast over 8.5.

Take "The Dark Knight" rated 9 here on imdb, then we can talk about overrated.

[–] All_Seeing_I 11 years ago

I watched it again for the first time today and was suprised by how well it held up, actually. It was slow to get going, but in the end it was still a moving and imaginative film. Not that these things made the movie good, but it turned out I had forgotten some of the odd elements like the Christ-like allusions, and the profanity, and even the drunk scene (!)

What do you mean by 'poor direction'? The direction was FANTASTIC...kids' acting was very good considering their ages (usually a sign of a good director), and Spielberg really uses the camera like an artist here. MUCH better cinematography than you see in a lot of movies nowadays, which just get the action in the frame or shake the camera back and forth.

I would say the artistic direction is it's best element...even after you've forgotten the movie (beyond it's basic concept) the images, music, and feelings still loom large in your mind, or at least they did in mine.

[–] residentevil6901 10 years ago

I agree that it is over rated as I like the movie but don't love it. I do think it was directed, acted and written very good, it is entertaining and a good watch. What makes me feel it's over rated is the E.T. alien is just so weird and goofy looking but then again who's to say what an alien looks like but I just think he could of been made to look a little cooler. It also came out when I was 9 and had grown up on 2 Star Wars movies at that point so in my mind it was a little bit of a let down. It is a kid movie and even though I was a kid I wanted a more adult version. But I can watch it and still like it today but it's more of a time waster for me or something I might put in when going to bed at night. If I like anything about it today it's the nostalgia factor as it looks like everything did when I was a kid.

Did anybody else think that the round ships trying to take off at the end battle in Star Wars Attack of the Clones looked almost like E.T.'s ship?

[–] slainzcasl 10 years ago

It was a crashing, great bore.