Super 8

The concept of Super 8 is combining the elements of J.J. Abrams and Steven Spielberg. The trailer kind of gave you the feeling of this movie being E.T. meets Cloverfield and while that is partially correct this movie is really about J. J. Abrams vision with the stylistic elements of Spielberg. Abrams brings another alien/monster movie to life on the screen and yet the real story is that of a group of younger kids filming a movie and how a train wreck effects their making of not only the movie, but also their lives as even a normal kid. Like most normal kids they have a natural curiosity to know what is going on once their town is evacuated. The story is really about the kids zombie movie making and the family tragedy while there's a monster attacking their town. This movie is in a way Abrams showing how the classic Spielberg movies inspired him.

Elle Fanning ends up stealing the show in her role of Alice. She is able to even outshine all of the adults which is something that is not often seen. The interesting aspect with Super 8 for me is the obvious similar E.T. feeling and how that movie helped a young Drew Barrymore become a star and with Fanning's performance this will be the one that people will look back on and see this to be her breakout performance. It was interesting to me how she is able to be the most memorable character and yet her role is really an offshoot main character. Joel Courtney in the main role of Joe Lamb does a decent job and while he is a newcomer he did show promise as we do see a full range of emotions from him and he does a good job to really control the screen and take over those moments when he is the prominent character, but also the confidence he exerts as they go to try to rescue Alice. The rest of the kid supporting cast help to really support Fanning and Courtney. The curiosity and fear that they all are feeling in trying to not only understand what they saw with the train wreck, but also wanting to know what the Air Force is doing in their town comes across clearly. they are all ones with potential that they could end up having very long movie careers.

With such a focus on the group of kids, the adult characters end up being very supplementary that there is only a moment or two of character development that I found myself wanting to have had more of a reason to care for the adults and understand why they were the way they are particularly Kyle Chandler's character and why he wanted his son to not be a part of helping with the movie. The problem with the adult roles is that there is so much development on the main group of kids that the adults feel flat and almost just there because the town would have both kids and adults. The only way to fix this would have been to eliminate some plot points and some characters that to eliminate some plot points and some characters that while prominent served no purpose to the overall development of the main story arc.

J.J. Abrams delivers a powerful story in Super 8 that builds throughout. Abrams has shown a great ability to build great stories that through his direction he brings to life in such great ways, case in point the reboot of Star Trek . While at some points the story does get a little muddled at times with so many different plot points running at times, the overall pacing was strong and the feelings that the story was constantly building throughout. As well as it did not have those moments with many smaller climaxes, but instead the tension and even edge of your seat feeling only built up more and more. Probably the greatest aspect of building suspense through the story is the secrecy of what the alien looks like. At different points we see quick glimpses of parts of the alien and also with the objects that alien is able to throw it only adds to the build up as to exactly how big is this alien. I enjoyed in ways the almost Goonies and E.T. feeling we get with the interactions and decisions made by the group of kids and how wanting to know what is exactly driving the Air Force to be in the town.

The build up for the story was perfect and I don't know if it was because the story put you on the edges of your seat with great suspense, but for me the biggest flaw was the climax. The whole pay-off moment for me ended up being a huge let down. When we finally see the monster and how big it is it is almost as if they decided to finish the movie quickly because the movie would end up being too long if they did not rush the end of the movie. They left some questions unanswered which I really would have liked to have known such as why did the alien just take the people and not kill them?

Super 8 is a movie that mixes the feel of E.T./Goonies with Cloverfield. While the build up for the story was great and the story Abrams told was great the pay-off was underwhelming and left me with   a feeling of wanting more. Elle Fanning gives a sensational performance that she actually outshines everyone in the cast. The rest of the kid cast do a great job as this really ends up being a movie that is all about them and not only their curiosities, but struggles with things that happen in life. I am giving Super 8 three buckets of popcorn out of five. While I enjoyed watching this movie it is one that is most worth renting.

-The Movie Man