Super 8

J.J Abrams gets me. He gets what I like and what I want to see. He also gets how to keep a movie mysterious and has the absolute best trailers for his movies. I truly believe Abrams is the future Spielberg, once he better figures out how to connect humanity to his epic stories. Star Trek was certainly on the path to that and it looked like Super 8 was going to make giant leaps forward in that category. It does not hurt that Spielberg was a major producer on the film and clearly his presence was felt in terms of story. I was crazy excited about this from day one. The moment i heard Abrams and Spielberg were teaming up, I was sold. My favorite director and one of my favorite up and comers together? Yes, please! There was nothing that I saw from the trailers or the reviews that made me think this movie would be less than totally awesome, which is always dangerous, as I have mentioned many times in this blog. But, I believed Abrams would not let me down! Would he?

In a sleepy Ohio town, a factory accident has left Joe Lamb(Joel Courtney) motherless. His father, Jackson(Kyle Chandler) is a well meaning man, but he is not equipped to raise a young boy on his own. Joe and his group of friends spend their days making movies and at the moment, they are making a zombie film with Charles(Riley Griffiths) as the writer and director. Joe is a master with make up, Cary does explosions, and Martin and Preston fill out the cast and crew. Charles, thinking the story is not emotional enough, decides to add a wife to the main character, Alice(Elle Fanning) is asked to be the wife. On a late night shoot near a train station, the group of kids witness an insane train derailment and total explosion. They talk to an ominous black man who warns them to keep quiet. This Ohio town is quickly overrun with military personal and Jackson, as the deputy, is soon in charge as the sheriff goes missing. It is not long after the train wreck that things start to go weird. First, all of the dogs in town leave, then electronics all over the town are either stolen or damaged, there are rolling black outs and of course, people are going missing. The young kids try hard not to talk about it and all they really want is to finish their film, but soon as the military evacuates the town, the boys set off to find answers and they find something in their footage.

Super 8 is the best movie of this year so far. It has heart, thrills, genuine laughs, and a great sense of nostalgia. It reminded me so much of all of the movies that made me a movie lover in the first place. It remembers a time when kids wanted nothing more than to be outside being creative. It has elements of Stand By Me, The Goonies, Jurassic Park, Close Encounters of the Third Kind and E.T. It also has young kids filming a zombie movie, so you have those references as well. it is a wonderful blend of low budget humanity and big budget blockbuster. It is the kind of movie I know I will watch and love many times because of the feeling it gives me. Yes, there are issues and it is not a perfect movie, but when a movie makes you feel this wonderful sense of joy, how can you really start nitpicking at it?

let us begin with the wonderful cast. The young actors in this film are just outstanding. The moments between the kids feels incredibly organic and the dialogue between them is often times hilarious and peppered with really honest lines and emotions. Elle Fanning is a star in the making for sure and she has great chemistry with Courtney and it lies at the heart of the story. Joel Courtney, in his first movie ever, is exactly what the movie needs and he really makes you believe everything he is feeling. If you have not seen Kyle Chandler in Friday Night Lights on television, you are really missing out. Very few actors can say more with a shift of weight, or with eye movement than he can. He says more with actually talking less than most actors and he brings that to the role of a father doing his best to figure out life.

Abrams knows how to direct action, there is no denying that. The train crash is about the best crash of that level I have seen. It is littered with thrills, explosions and death defying moments with the kids. He also does a great job of concealing the creature until he absolutely needs to show it to us. The final action sequence that interlocks the human side and the blockbuster side is quite a wonderful spectacle, but I felt like it never lost the human core. In fact, it kept it so intact, one of the people I saw it with thought it bordered on cheesy, but to that I say, the movie is about a father and son trying to come to terms with the death of a loved one, it had better be a little bit cheesy! I will never tire of watching people dodge tanks, bullets and exploding houses and Abrams shoots this finale in a nice blend of long and tight shots. He shoots overhead when we need to see the scope of what is going on, but he knows exactly when to pull it in and give us something intimate.

I am very much aware that there are some flaws. yes, it is a little convenient as certain points for the boys to stumble upon exactly what they are looking for, but if that is what you are focusing on, then the movie is clearly not for you, because the movie did not grab you and fill you the way it did me. I will not listen to anyone complaining about Lens Flares because it is a J.J Abrams movie and you knew what you were getting into. It is like going to a Michael Bay and complaining about sweeping slow motion shots, it is part of who Abrams is as a film maker. I am not sure Super 8 will stay my favorite movie of the year, but I am pretty sure it will end up in my top 5 and it will be a movie I love for years to come. Any movie that can combine the adventure of The Goonies and the thrills of Jurassic park is always going to be watchable in my book. Super 8 is the kind of movie that makes me glad I can just get lost in a movie.

Final Grade: A+