Ìý User Rating 
Twenty years after smashing box-office records, Steven Spielberg's gentle sci-fi fable returns to screens as vital and accomplished as ever.
One of Spielberg's most personal films, "E.T." is a soulful mix of fairytale and fable, as a benevolent alien visiting Earth becomes stranded. Discovered by a lonely eight-year-old boy, Elliot (Thomas), a friendship develops between the two as Elliott vows to help ET contact his home while eluding government scientists determined to capture him.
While this pristine re-release is undoubtedly welcome, the big question is whether the film's legendary sentimentality can work on today's cynical, market-tested-to-death audiences. Well, with children silently enthralled and adults wallowing in nostalgia, the answer is absolutely.
Despite Spielberg's trademark mawkishness, he handles the film's high-emotion material with assuredness and clarity. The relationship between the boy and what ultimately was a puppet is so convincing and heart-rending; most directors would kill for such resonance.
For the 20th anniversary, there's a whole host of imperceptible new additions, effects, and restored sequences. Subtle CGI broadens ET's facial expressions, heightening an already hugely emotive face. Cutely lumbering in the original, his movements are more fluid here, particularly early on when he's pursued by scientists.
The much talked about replacement of hand guns with walkie-talkies may appear overly-censorious, but it's barely noticeable. The ultimate family film has just been made that little bit more 'family'...
Whether you're seeing it for the first time or the 20th, you'll marvel at the movie's moments of sheer exhilaration, particularly the flying bicycles sequence, massively bolstered by John Williams' remastered and instantly recognisable score.
So, grab your hankies and sniffle with pride: "E.T." is Spielberg at his purest, and his delightful film has been made even better.
