This may be an unpopular opinion, but Steven Spielberg’s greatest strength is simultaneously his greatest weakness: his juvenile outlook on life. The E.T. parable is not lost on me, but there is a sterility omnipresent in this movie that sends one searching through credits for some sort of Disney Channel affiliation. I joke with my friend Tyler that Spielberg is a sexless director, almost puritan compared to his contemporaries like Scorsese and De Palma. Compared to something like The Iron Giant (1999) or The Lost Boys (1987) E.T. is devoid of danger, and that’s something I consider essential.
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