This movie was a childhood favorite of mine and I was a little nervous about how it might hold up. I needn't have worried. It holds up very well.
This was an interesting point for Spielberg: he was just coming into his storytelling skills, but also into the treacly, saccharine tropes that would keep some of his later movies from being truly great, while still tempered by '70s character-driven movie grit that keeps a lot of the Hollywood gloss toned down to an acceptable level. It really was the right balance for him, and this movie works really well from start to finish.
Oddly, the one thing that doesn't hold up isn't the '70s day-glo alien ships, but the score by John Williams. It feels a little overwrought and try-hard, and to me, an orchestral score in this movie kind of undercuts some of the '70s grit.
It's a small complaint, though. Great movie when I was a kid, great movie when I was an adult.
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