Welcome to another edition of Movie Review Monday!

This week's film is the 1982 classic, E.T. - The Extra Terrestrial directed by Steven Spielberg.

I've been wanting to watch this movie for a while now, as it was another one on my sci-fi classics list to finally see. Unfortunately, when seeing these films (specifically ones like 2001: A Space Odyssey, Close Encounters of the Third Kind) some of them just didn't really connect with me. While some were enjoyable, I think they were all definitely films of their time that had an impact when they came out, but now, with other modern films capturing the minds of audiences, they more serve as historic benchmarks than anything else. I think sci-fi as a genre is heavily dependent on the era from which it is made, since when it is at its best, it provides a unique opportunity for powerful allegories.

Now, back to E.T. I thought this was a cute, simple, small movie. It wasn't worried about the world exploding or an alien invasion. It was just about a lost alien trying to get home. In that way, it was a refreshing story when compared to the big, loud, and/or dumb sci-fi we get currently with things like Transformers (and all the movies trying to copy its success). Otherwise, I didn't really enjoy this movie. A lot of it happened with no explanation and it was a bit clumsy as a result. I just found myself confused by it but it was still a fun movie for the most part. At under two hours, it still felt a little long and stretched out to be honest. Even with all that being said, and it being an older movie, it feels like it is made for a family to watch together and it was definitely made for kids. Something I noticed watching this movie was how most of the adult roles are either not focused on or are shrouded. The whole film feels like it is done from a child's perspective in that way. It's a neat touch.

I'm glad I got to see this movie and appreciate what it offers. While it wasn't my favorite, I get the appeal, especially for someone who was the right age when it came out originally.

You can watch E.T. right now on Netflix.

Thanks for stopping by!