E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial: Critic Reviews

93%

MovieWeb: 0 reviews

98%

RottenTomatoes: 50 reviews

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Vincent Canby New York Times (Top Critic)

100

[It] may become a children's classic of the space age.
Full Review » 10 years ago
Peter Bradshaw Guardian [UK] (Top Critic)

A devastating rebuke to anyone who has presumed to patronise this great film-maker.
Full Review » 10 years ago
Don McKellar Village Voice (Top Critic)

More than the work of any other filmmaker, Spielberg's output seems uniquely designed to induce in me this queasy false-memory syndrome.
Full Review » 5 years ago
Dave Kehr Chicago Reader (Top Critic)

Though marred by Spielberg's usual carelessness with narrative points, the film alternates sweetness and sarcasm with enough rhetorical sophistication to be fairly irresistible.
Full Review » 5 years ago
Liam Lacey Globe and Mail (Top Critic)

100

A contemporary classic.
Full Review » 5 years ago
James Berardinelli ReelViews (Top Critic)

75

On inherent merit, the movie would not warrant such a highly publicized re-release, but this is one of those films that transcends what's on the screen.
Full Review » 5 years ago
Kenneth Turan Los Angeles Times (Top Critic)

100

A film that connects so beautifully to our sense of wonder and joy.
Full Review » 10 years ago
Film4

100

Spielberg triumphantly succeeds in bringing the magical to the everyday.
Full Review » 4 years ago
David Sterritt Christian Science Monitor

75

It helped alter the course of sci-fi movies by suggesting that intergalactic aliens might not be monsters but friendly, even loving, creatures. This doesn't make it a masterpiece, but it's fun.
Full Review » 5 years ago
Lawrence Toppman Charlotte Observer

100

What I see is simply a timeless story about friendship, loss and maturity -- and, perhaps, an idealized America of the kind Hollywood and politicians strive to convince us could really exist.
Full Review » 5 years ago
David Nusair Reel Film Reviews

100

...a bona fide classic that has something to offer moviegoers of all ages.
Full Review » 5 years ago
Time Out

Although conclusively demonstrating Spielberg's preeminence as the popular artist of his time, E.T. finally seems a less impressive film than Close Encounters.
Full Review » 6 years ago
Ryan Cracknell Movie Views

E.T. is a film I will continue to watch over and over for the rest of my life. It is one I will never grow sick of, no matter how many times I watch it.
Full Review » 7 years ago
Scott Nash Three Movie Buffs

100

It's a simple beautiful story about loneliness, friendship, and the bittersweet pangs of childhood.
Full Review » 7 years ago
James Plath Reel.com

100

What do Ernest Hemingway, Carl Sandburg, Albert Einstein, and E.T. have in common? The eyes, according to Spielberg.
Full Review » 8 years ago
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat Spirituality and Practice

Steven Spielberg's E.T. The Extraterrestrial touches the heart, engages the senses, and playfully challenges us to cavort with its allusive meanings.
Full Review » 8 years ago
Moira MacDonald Seattle Times

100

What E.T. does so well is to capture that moment in life when childhood seems to be slipping away.
Full Review » 8 years ago
Eric Lurio Greenwich Village Gazette

90

The OOOOOs and Ahhhhhhhhs are contagious, the cheering as Elliot, Michael and their friends take to the air as they're being chased by the Feds will still raise a cheer.
Full Review » 9 years ago
Jeanne Aufmuth Palo Alto Weekly

100

Now that's entertainment.
Full Review » 9 years ago
Ian Waldron-Mantgani UK Critic

100

The simple truth is, no other movie has the same power to unite audiences in wonder and fulfilment.
Full Review » 9 years ago
Steven Snyder Zertinet Movies

Come 2022, I'm sure I'll be seeing it again with my kids.
Full Review » 9 years ago
John R. McEwen Film Quips Online

100

E.T. isn't my favorite movie; it's not even my favorite Spielberg movie, but no one can deny the powerful effect it had on the film industry, our attitude toward extraterrestrial life, and our culture.
Full Review » 9 years ago
Dennis Schwartz Ozus' World Movie Reviews

50

If you liked the 1982 film, then you'll still like the revised edition.
Full Review » 9 years ago
Rick Kisonak Film Threat

60

The story itself holds up fairly well though, twenty years later, does come off as thinner than I recalled.
Full Review » 9 years ago
Scott Weinberg eFilmCritic.com

100

Most importantly of all things, the ORIGINAL unaltered, unblemished, and gloriously widescreen 1982 version is included, so all complaints are tempered with a sense of overall satisfaction.
Full Review » 10 years ago