Starman is a happy surprise... Messianic without being preachy, cute without being cloying.

| May 14, 2025

"Starman" is to "E.T." what "Romancing the Stone" is to "Raiders of the Lost Ark" -- decidedly more adult, quite exciting, generously entertaining but lacking wonderment and magic.

| May 14, 2025

Starman may have its moments of simplemindedness and times when a good argument can be made against special effects, but it's a film with the warmth of a holiday hearth.

| May 13, 2025

As derivative as the film is, at some primitive story level it works.

| May 13, 2025

Starman is most striking as a beautifully photographed road movie, with a strong feeling for America's highways and its wayside gas stations and diners.

| May 13, 2025

"Starman" is a close encounter of the most curious kind that never sacrifices hardware for humanity, intelligence for action or character for caricature.

| May 13, 2025

The performances are detailed and superbly conceived. The visual wonderment is gentle and poetic and very underplayed in the era of stunning spectacle.

| May 13, 2025

No filmmaker has ever showed Allen off to better advantage, and Bridges continues to reveal himself as a droll hunk of many facets.

| May 13, 2025

What makes "Starman" works so well is the relationship between Jeff Bridges and Karen Allen.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | May 13, 2025

"Starman" delivers its message without undue pyrotechnics or excessive pontificating. Those things alone make it a winner.

| Original Score: 3/4 | May 13, 2025

Despite spotty dialogue "Starman" sweeps audiences along in its good-humored current.

| Original Score: 6/10 | May 13, 2025

A lot of the film is funny, in fact, and virtually all of it is cute.

| Original Score: 3/5 | May 13, 2025

The film rapidly becomes rather dull, once the initial powers of the special effects have worn off.

| May 13, 2025

Director John Carpenter keeps "Starman" on a cool visual level that fans the growing heat between the two main characters.

| Original Score: 3/4 | May 13, 2025

"Starman" has a terrific director and two talented stars... They skip most of the fancy special effects, leaving just enough chases and blasts to keep everyone interested.

| May 13, 2025

Allen and Bridges seem to work perfectly on each other's wave-lengths.

| May 13, 2025

On the surface, a failed E.T. copycat; beneath the skin, a movie with some weird ideas.

| May 13, 2025

The film is full of funny moments, but the humor isn't forced. It springs naturally from the basic premise.

| May 13, 2025

What starts out as cold-blooded science-fiction turns into a rather touching romance -- something more along the lines of an "on the road" movie than a space opera.

| Original Score: 3/5 | May 13, 2025

Carpenter and crew are, thankfully, more interested in such things as character and plot than they are in state-of-the-art laser shows.

| Original Score: 3/4 | May 13, 2025