Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

Whether you first saw it in 1984 or some 30 years later, you don't get quite what you expect from a film named "Starman" directed by horror and gritty sci-fi master John Carpenter. A love story wrapped up in alien visitor/on-the-run movie, "Starman" is quintessential '80s entertainment only it's so representative of its time that it struggles to stand out.The film images that in 1977, the Voyager 2 space probe transmitted a message inviting intelligent extra-terrestrial life to visit Earth. Years later a ship arrives with an alien but is shot down over Wisconsin, where it encounters the home of a young widow, Jenny Hayden (Karen Allen) and then takes the form of her late husband, Scott (Jeff Bridges). Once she gets over her fright, he tells her he must go to Arizona in three days time to go home or he'll die. She reluctantly hits the road with him and slowly over time they form a bond, all while trying to outrun the feds.Although Carpenter sprinkles in some impressive explosions, the entertainment value of "Starman" comes in the form of Bridges playing a "human" feeling his way through our world and the humor that results. Bruce A. Evans and Raynold Gideon's script has fun imagining how someone unfamiliar with our planet and American culture might go about figuring it out. Bridges absolutely sells the bit, losing any of his recognizable mannerisms in his peculiar character and never easing up. Even as the film progresses, he never loses that quirky edge and doesn't revert to normal. That level of commitment proves essential to the film's sincere (if not sappy) moments.As '80s movies go, however, the blissfully unaware visitor bit is awfully similar to a comedy that preceded it by nine months: Ron Howard's "Splash," which sees a mermaid trying to understand life in the big city. When you consider that the rest of the movie is an adult-oriented take on "E.T." (the friendly visitor who just wants to go home), it's hard to give "Starman" the credit for any particular original creative ideas.It wouldn't be an issue if the script didn't lean a bit on what it presumes to be fresh and exciting ideas. The burden of winning audiences over therefore shifts to the core story, which has some nice moments, but half-bakes a lot of its most promising elements. Allen gives us the wide range of emotions we expect from her character, but so many more moments of tension, drama and raw emotion were possible from this excellent conceit of a young widow beholding the image of her dead husband who is actually a curious, bright-eyed alien. The potential is so apparent yet so squandered.The moments when we see or think about our world and culture differently because of Starman's curiosity rank among the film's brightest spots. The character is constantly surprising us and that keeps the film interesting where the chase dynamic goes flat. You might expect plenty of tension from Carpenter, but the strengths of his work on the film fall in the column of character moments. He's particularly patient, giving scenes and performances space to breathe, trying often to pique our curiosity and create some wonder. He's no Spielberg in this regard, but he recognizes that he's dealing with a love story, not so much a science-fiction film. It's the sci-fi element that merely creates some original perspective, a new lens to tell a story about love and more specifically, kindness.That universally understood value at the center of this film could be deemed reason number one why "Starman" is a great remake candidate. The film scratches the surface of some deeply human stuff, so if treated more like the romantic drama it is, it could really speak to people. Some will argue that Carpenter's version does that, but I see a film trying to ride the wave of the alien visitor films before it that luckily redeems itself on Bridges' performance.~Steven CThanks for reading! Visit Movie Muse Reviews for more

Starman is certainly a bit of a departure for director John Carpenter. It seems that after the box-office disappointment of The Thing (1982) he decided that his next return to the alien film should be something less scary and more in line with the E.T. (1982) template. The result is a John Carpenter film that is decidedly more gentle natured than we had seen up to that point. After learning about humanity from the space probe Voyager 2 an alien crash lands on Earth and assumes the identity of a dead man. He enlists the reluctant help of the wife of this deceased individual in his mission to return home. Needless to say, the authorities pursue him, hell bent on preventing his departure.This change of pace for Carpenter is another film which shows the care he gave to all his movies. The story is solid, if nothing especially great. But it's nicely shot and paced, with some engaging performances, especially from Karen Allen as the bemused woman taken along for the ride by the alien. Jeff Bridges puts in an original enough turn as the starman, although it is definitely quite surprising he was Oscar nominated for it. In essence this is a road movie with a romantic sub-plot that is based around a sci-fi premise. It's fairly successful in each of its sub-genres and is a very likable piece of work overall. And for what it's worth, I much preferred it to E.T.

Yes! This is a marvelous movie about humanity - our fears, hopes, strengths and weaknesses. Jeff Bridges is amazing as the Starman - he really seems to be not of this earth. Karen Allen is lovely and so appealing as she overcomes her fear and proves that love is universal. Plus Charles Martin Smith - Terry the Toad (ugh!) in "American Graffiti" - really rocks it as a humanitarian scientist, one who realizes that we invited the Starman and owe him a little respect. Not exactly handsome, but he's grown so lovable since his early role as a clumsy nerd. Probably he played that unattractive part so convincingly because he's an intelligent and talented actor. I've seen the flick ten times or more but it never grows old. It always amazes me. The acting is convincing and the story is well told. Indeed it is a brilliant romance which warms and informs the heart.

An alien comes to Earth (Wisconsin, specifically) and takes the form of a widow's late husband. The "starman" enlists her help getting him to Arizona to rendezvous with an alien spacecraft. Along the way she begins to develop feelings for him. Meanwhile the government, aware that an alien has arrived on Earth, is anxious to find and capture it.One of director John Carpenter's most mainstream efforts but that doesn't mean it's a bad one. It's a movie that obviously owes a lot to E.T. The basic formula of the two films is very similar. Jeff Bridges is great in the lead role. He was nominated for an Oscar for this. The only time a Carpenter movie got an Oscar nod. Karen Allen is also quite good. She and Bridges have a nice chemistry together. The often underrated Charles Martin Smith is another plus. It's an enjoyable film but probably more so for your average moviegoer than critical sci-fi buffs. I like it a lot and don't feel like it gets enough love from other Carpenter fans. Maybe it's lacking many of those Carpenter touches we love but it's still a good movie. This later inspired a short-lived TV series but the less said about that, the better.