Movie Review: "Super 8"

Seen on: June 7, 2011

The players: Director: J.J. Abrams, Writer: J.J. Abrams, Cast: Kyle Chandler, Elle Fanning, Ron Eldard, Noah Emmerich

Facts of interest: Regular Abrams composer Michael Giacchino did the music for “Super 8” and also appears as one of the Sheriff’s deputies.

The plot: A group of young teens in Middle America circa 1979 are making a monster movie when they are caught up in a mysterious adventure.

Our thoughts: Since its teaser trailer was released almost a year ago, “Super 8” has set the movie community abuzz with speculation about its story. This brilliant marketing tool generated massive hype without ever giving away any idea of what the film would eventually be about, leaving audiences with unfortunately lofty expectations, a ploy that rarely works in these days of reconstituted cinematic garbage.  That said, “Super 8” pulls off a phenomenal feat: it lives up to the promotional ballyhoo.

What we could learn from the trailer is this: The year is 1979. A group of nerdy middle school kids set out to make a movie in their town. During the shoot, the kids witness a massive train crash. Soon, the Air Force takes over the area, looking for something. Aided by the local Sheriff (Kyle Chandler), who is also one of the boy’s fathers, these plucky kids must solve the mystery of this crash and save their town. Is it a new weapon, a secret experiment, or something from out of this world? You’ll just have to watch for yourself to find out.

The immediate hook is how familiar it sounds -- a group of precocious tweens, small town America, possible monster invasion…  Viewers aged 35 and up will nostalgically recall the plot of nearly every summer popcorn adventure of the 1980s: “E.T.,” “The Goonies,” “Gremlins,” “The Monster Squad,” etc. Much like “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” which was designed as a loving throwback to the action serials of the 1930s, “Super 8” is a love letter to the movies of our youth. Granted, it doesn’t hurt that Steven Spielberg, the godfather of these types of movies, produced “Super 8.”  His presence is keenly felt in many scenes.

Director J.J. Abrams (“Lost,” “Star Trek”) has clearly honed his suspense/action chops at the master’s knee, while still putting his own spin on Spielberg’s use of angles and focus to deliver the tension and story, yet leaving just enough of the threat hidden to give the audience a delicious ride without gratuitously spoiling the ending. Not a frame is wasted. The movie is wonderfully paced, keeping the viewer on the razor’s edge while still connecting the viewer to the characters and investing them in the story for the duration.

The characters are familiar, yet fresh, and all the performances are true to the required 1980s small-town earnestness. This is especially true of Kyle Chandler (“Friday Night Lights”) and newcomer Joel Courtney, who play the estranged father and son, a relationship that is necessarily put aside to focus on the main story. Yet, in the short amount of time they spend together on screen, they manage to fully flesh out a poignant dynamic that will leave quite a few teary eyes in the theater.

If the movie has a downside, it has to be the mysterious force at the center of the story.  After the year of build-up, and one and a half hours of a masterfully slow unveiling, the ending hook is a little bit of a letdown, not unlike J.J. Abrams' revelation of the secrets of the island in “Lost.”  As usual, the foreplay is our favorite part of the process…

There is also another, almost intangible, aspect to this film that elevates it from the potentially mundane to the spectacular. Much like Spielberg before him, J.J. Abrams infuses his movie with what could best be described as love. The filmmakers have infused their passion into their autobiographical charges, and their joy in creating this special story is apparent in every shot of the film. Abrams is not only extremely talented, but he also has a deep adoration and respect for everything he does, and it shows on the screen.

In short:  For younger generations, this is an extremely well-crafted summer blockbuster; for the older generations, it’s a stroll down memory lane, both in period and the attention to detail. This feels just like those movies many of us grew up on and our appreciation should be felt in spades. (That said, should we be worried that the days of our childhood have actually become a period piece?)

Freaky quote: "Ok… we need to get the lens and the focus ring fixed on the camera…  I’m gonna go steal more money from my mom!" - Riley Griffiths

The final word: A rare gem that actually exceeds its hype.

On the web: http://www.super8-movie.com/

Article by Danny Alves

Comments

[Franck]

One of the most gorgeous films I've seen. It blew me away.