Delayed Reaction: Close Encounters of the Third Kind

The Pitch: But really, maybe UFOs are real.

After witnessing UFOs and other unexplained phenomenons, both civilians and military officers become obsessed with making contact with extra-terrestrial beings.

I'm sad to say this, but Close Encounters didn't live up to my expectations. It was probably always doomed, to be honest. It fills a place in my mind that bridges the gap between Star Wars and E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial. Close Encounters was the other massively successful SciFi movie of 1977 and its Stephen Spielberg's other extra-terrestrial movie. It's fair to suggest that this is the most important movie for the trajectory of Spielberg's career, even. Think about it. Deul set him up to get a chance making theatrical films. Jaws got everyone to pay attention. Close Encounters was what proved that he belonged in the top tier. That was his golden ticket. After that, any studio would give him a chance. If all he had was Jaws, then studios could call it a fluke. Two massive successes in a row meant another was likely just around the corner. It's kind of like how the Matrix Trilogy has funded a decade of box office bombs for the Wachowskis.

Really, Close Encounters is a pretty simple movie. Richard Dreyfuss' Roy Neary has the initial close encounter. That's cut with some crazy discoveries by government agents. Roy goes crazy and obsessive for a while before seeing Devil's Tower. He and others fight like hell to see what's going on there. There's a strange and tense interaction with the aliens. The aliens return a bunch of people and take Roy with them. By modern blockbuster standards, or even compared to Star Wars that year, it's a snooze. I really don't know what I was expecting. I guess because it was the same year as Star Wars, I thought it would be more like that.

Close Encounters is fine. Spielberg builds the mystery and the tension like the master he is. It has a simple and effective sense of wonder.  I probably came to it too late in life or too late in my study of Spielberg for it to work as well as it should've.

Verdict (?): Weakly Recommend