The kids are the only ones who actually cared about E.T., the adults were all just dying to dissect him, referring to him as the creature instead of as a person. The loss of childhood innocence turns us into monsters, it would seem.
What do you think, if the government had gotten ET first, would he now be back home with his friends and family or would he be doing parlor tricks for them as they find a way to weaponize him.
Well that’s the point. It’s a kids adventure movie. Notice all the government “scientists” are faceless and evil behind their hazmat suits.
I always kinda felt that side of it was cheesy along with Elliot. But it’s a decent flick with a great score from John Williams.
I'd say it's more than "decent"--it's good--but it's not as good as it's sometime hyped up to be. I revisited it for the first time in probably 30 years recently and was a little disappointed in it.
Meanwhile, some of Spielberg's other early films like Close Encounters and Jurassic Park are still amazing.