I haven’t seen E.T. in decades, so perhaps it hasn’t held up well, I really couldn’t say. But I do remember loving it as a child when it came out. Earth to Echo may be the same for the latest generation, though I think it holds less well with adults. From a grown-up’s perspective, it’s a pretty bad film.
There aren’t a lot of redeeming qualities in this film unfortunately. The acting is very rough, from everyone in it. The kids I can at least understand, they are young, and while you hope for better, it can at least be partially forgiven. But even the few adults in this film are terrible. There is one scene in particular where a man is so over-the-top, so completely hamming it up, that I actually laughed out loud in the theater, though it was supposed to be a tense scene.
If you haven’t heard, the film is basically an updated E.T. Kids find a stranded alien, and try to help him find his way off the planet while a super secret government group is hunting them down. But there is none of the heart of E.T. in this film. You don’t feel for the kids, and only remotely feel for the alien. The film tries to keep things light with “humorous” dialogue, but it’s pretty unfunny. This movie is really only for the very young, and even they might grow bored before it is over.
Jons Movie Takes 