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Buy Super 8 Movie. Watch online or Download
| Genres: | Thriller | |
| Mystery | ||
| Sci-Fi | ||
| Actors: | Ron Eldard | |
| Andrew Miller | ||
| Kyle Chandler | ||
| Gabriel Basso | ||
| Elle Fanning | ||
| Zach Mills | ||
| Jessica Tuck | ||
| Director(s): | J.J. Abrams | |
| IMDB Rating: | 7.3 out of 10 (108608 votes) | |
| Year: | 2011 | |
| Country: | USA | |
Download Information
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Super 8 (HD 1080) | Resolution: 1920x800 px | Total Size: 7820 Mb | ||
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Super 8 (HD 1080) | Resolution: 1920x800 px | Total Size: 7820 Mb | ||
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Super 8 (HD 720) | Resolution: 1280x528 px | Total Size: 4466 Mb |
Storyline
Plot Summary:
In the summer of 1979, a group of friends in a small Ohio town witness a catastrophic train crash while making a super 8 movie and soon suspect that it was not an accident. Shortly after, unusual disappearances and inexplicable events begin to take place in town, and the local Deputy tries to uncover the truth - something more terrifying than any of them could have imagined.
Movie Photos
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Visitors Review
Entertaining, engrossing and extra-terrestrial - Derivative but from the very best
Super 8 is admittedly not a perfect film, but I enjoyed it so much, and was so taken by the characters and the actors playing them, that I didn't really mind the occasional inconsistency or lingering "awed expressions" scene.Set in a small town in Ohio in 1979, the basic plot centers around Joe Lamb (Joel Courtney), a 13-year-old boy whose mother recently died in a factory accident, leaving him with only his father, Jackson (Kyle Chandler), a sheriff's deputy who's a more than decent man but who has never known how to really be a father. Jackson's escape is burying himself in his work, while Joe's is helping his best friend Charles (Riley Griffiths) make an amateur zombie movie with the help of their other friends Preston (Zach Mills), Martin (Gabriel Basso) and Cary (Ryan Lee). But Joe's involvement becomes truly committed when Charles persuades Alice Dainard (Elle Fanning), a girl he secretly has a crush on, to join the project.Things taken a sudden turn when, in the midst of shooting a midnight scene at the local railroad depot, Joe sees a pickup truck suddenly drive onto the tracks, directly in the path of an oncoming freight train, resulting in a spectacular crash that sends freight cars derailing everywhere and the shocked kids running for cover. The plot quickly thickens when Joe gets a glimpse of something bursting out of one of the freight cars, and when they find the driver of the pickup, badly injured, is Dr. Woodward (Glynn Turman), their biology teacher, who warns them to get away and to never speak of what they've seen to anyone or they - and their parents - will be killed. And then there's the knocked over Super 8 camera that has been continuing to roll throughout everything, capturing something that no one else saw while they were busy tried not to get crushed by flying debris. Something that will become important later as strange things begin to happen: dogs fleeing the town for no apparent reason, car engines and other pieces of machinery being stolen, people suddenly disappearing. And of course the massive influx of military personnel who are crawling all over everything while their commander, Col. Nelec (Noah Emmerich) blandly insists that there's _nothing_ going on.The characters are well drawn, fleshed out with real personalities, quirks and flaws, and you very quickly come to care about them. And the actors, most of them either fairly unknown or newcomers, are marvelous, the kids in particular as they're at the heart of the film, but also the adults, particularly Kyle Chandler and Ron Eldard as the two fathers linked - and separated - by tragedy, each not doing so well at dealing with it. Joel Courtney as Joe has one of those faces that projects everything he's feeling, from the distance he's experiencing with his dad to the secret yet painfully obvious crush he has on Alice. Riley Griffiths as his best friend Charles is a perfect counterpoint, pursuing his film with single-minded determination but holding other things in. Ryan Lee's pint-sized braces-laden (and explosives-crazy) Cary is a riot, as is Gabriel Basso's Martin as the zombie film's leading man who has an unfortunate tendency to puke a lot, while Zach Mills' Preston has the healthiest fear-instinct of the crowd. And last but not least, Elle Fanning's Alice is a wonder, a sensitive girl with her own father issues whose unexpected natural talent at acting leaves the boys with their jaws hanging.Super 8 is highly derivative, but in a good way. It draws on the best parts of any number of movies from the past, most notably E.T. (1982) and The Goonies (1985) but also films like Joe Dante's Explorers (1985) , The Bad News Bears (1976) and, more recently, Son of Rambow (2007), a little seen but marvelous independent British film about a couple of boys with family issues who bond over making an amateur movie.Note: in one scene, there's a definite tip-of-the-hat prop taken right out of Spielberg's E.T. Just keep your eyes peeled when the camera closes in on the water tower near the climax of the movie and see if anything looks strikingly familiar.There are admittedly weak points in the film, mainly where it seems uncertain of just which direction it wants to take or where inconsistencies tend to be glaring. Is the alien dangerous and deadly... or just misunderstood? Is the alien killing people... or just holding on to them for a while? The trouble is that in different parts of the film it's definitely one, but in other parts of the film it's the other. And the climactic lingering "awed expressions" scene does feel at odds with the the life-threatening dangers the characters were experiencing earlier (not to mention the burning shambles half the town has been reduced to). Another weak point is the villain, Col. Nelec (I suspect the name Nelec is an in-joke of some kind), who is never anything but a cliched military bad guy. But as I said, while these things do keep it from being a perfect film, they don't in the end get in the way from it being an engaging and enjoyable one.Highly recommended for anyone who likes an engaging film that sucks you in and keeps you involved all the way through, and that values story and character over special effects and stars.
Drop dead Hollywood
Kids witness a train crash that starts series of weird happenings in asmall town. Doesn't sound too original, but expert storytelling reallyglues you to the chair, I love watching these kids obsess withzombie-movie making, great young actors, great character development.Adult support cast is solid too. Effects - flawless as can be expectedat this day and age.Yes, this should be a GREAT movie. It really starts superbly and itkeeps the pace till the last third. And then suddenly it fumbles. Isuspect rewrites due to studio/producer pressure as usual. And thatmade ending nonsensically Spilberg-ish and dropped overall value of themovie to an average. What a shame.
Another great marketing effect
I didn't like the movie and you cannot blame me for that.First of all, I was a lot interested about it. The trailer did what wassupposed to, lighting the flame of curiosity as a massive campaignshould always do. Then it was released and received huge positivereviews from the critics and also from the audience but people nevertell you what the movie is about to not spoil it as if there'ssomething really interesting to cover. J.J. Abrams as a director wasattractive since he is becoming a great one. Spielberg producing meansthat maybe the story would possibly be "interesting". That's why Ithink that this movie is being so overrated just because of these hugenames and because seems that nobody dares to dismiss Spielberg. But inthe end it was a totally disappointment and a waste of time comparingto what I was expecting.The art direction is amazing for sure reproducing the late 70's in thebest possible way, some anachronisms are there but forgivable. Also,Abrams direction is extremely similar to some of the traditionalcharacteristics that made Spielberg a reference like the abusive use ofdynamic and open shots. The young actors are convincing and have agreat chemistry together, giving you that Goonies feeling that wehaven't felt for a long time. References to the classics are there,from Romero to Spielberg, from Ridley Scott to James Cameron,fulfilling its intents. So, technically, the movie is great.But then comes the train crash. First, I'm sorry, but it is impossiblefor a simple car to destroy an entire train like that, the physics canexplain it better than me. Second, how could someone drive a cardirectly to a train, crash it, explode it, take entirely train off itstrail, make wagons fly and destroy everything around but still aliveand just with some few scars on the face? Absolutely nonsense. Not eventhe worst action movie would do something so lame and absurd.Then comes the plot development, it takes hours for somethinginteresting to come, and it keeps hours using that old suspensefulelement of never revealing the great threat entirely till the lastcouple minutes, which is a formula that isn't so much effectiveanymore. So, after 1 hour watching the movie, I was completely boredand the action and the thrilling moments just end as fast as ithappens. The ending is another thing that was disappointing. There'sthis monster that makes dogs disappear, kills and sometimes kidnapspeople, but then a small boy with a pure and in love heart says thismagical words that comes from his pure spirit and then this monsterfinally stops creating the chaos and decides to go home. WTF!I was expecting more than it is. But one thing is great, it's a teenagemovie. It never tries to catch different audiences, that's why maybe Ididn't like it or do not agree to be one of the best movies of 2011 aspeople and critics are claiming it to be, but teenagers will love itfor sure or some older people that will be affected by this teenagenostalgia that the movie provides.I would give 10 for the technical qualities, but movies aren't justthat, so I give it 5.
Derivative, but still fun and well-made
You can tell that Abrams and Spielberg worked together on this movie,because it's a cross between Goonies, E.T., and Cloverfield, with someClose Encounters thrown in. This is JJ Abram's worst movie, but it'sstill watchable. As a gen-Xer, this movie took me back (feels likemid-70's), and the "production values" are very good. The tween lovebetween Joe and Alice is realistic and likable - probably the bestthing about this movie. Unlike other Abram's productions, this moviedoesn't leave you hanging with lots of unanswered questions at the end.One warning: there is ubiquitous swearing and profanity - I wouldn'ttake my kids.
Not so perfect 10/10
This film isn't a 10/10 film then again neither is the Goonies or e.tbut I have to give it this score purely because its got so much goingon yet it does not confuse it just entertains with ease, I quoteGoonies and e.t because this film is very reminiscent of those 80'sadventure films however it is scarier but not so much that childrenwould have nightmares. I found the acting very good there's a scenewith Elle Fanning at the train station that I thought was amazing plusI like her so much more then her annoying sister(sorry), The new comerJoel Courtney was very good not amazing but could definitely go on tobe a successful actor there was a few not so good moments wasn't soldwith Fanning's in film father and a few of the friends where a bitamateur but I forgive because they are young and still quite amateur.So props to everyone that made the film I 97% enjoyed it the 3% wouldof preferred a little more character based film time than some of thepointless but brilliant action.
1 of the Best films I've seen in 2011 - 5 Stars for both movie and blu-ray transfer
This review is from: Super 8 (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo + Digital Copy) (Blu-ray) First off, I just finished watching an advance blu-ray copy of this film and the movie and blu-ray transfer blew me away. IMO, this film is one of the very best of 2011 and if you are a fan of "old-fashioned" type drama/suspense films that have to do with extra-terrestrial life and what happens to a small rural community in the late 1970's is truly a film that will stay with you long after the movie's end. To give any more away would be a sin, so I won't.The blu-ray video and audio is fantastic. The aspect ratio is what appears to be 2.35:1 or thereabouts (Amazon has it wrong at 1.85:1). The video throughout is pristine with vivid colors in the daylight scenes and ink blacks in the night scenes. Details are vivid as you would expect from a top-notch blu-ray transfer. The audio equals the quality of the video and I've had to monitor the volume because I live in an apartment and use a 9.1 speaker configuration. Vocals came mainly from the center speaker along with the two front speakers that sometimes spilled over to the speakers located in the right and left middle ends of the room. Music and sounds were extremely active in all the remaining speakers. This film's sound truly rocked my movie room.I have over a thousand blu-rays and this film is in the top two of all films made and released in 2011. YES, it is that good!!!I just pre-ordered this from Amazon.com at the price of $24.99 and that's more than I usually pay for a new movie on blu-ray. I usually wait until the price comes down (which almost always happens) a few months down the road. But this is one film I have to have on release day.
Had high hopes for this but very disappointed
A train derailment on the outskirts of a small Ohio town unleashes a mysterious creature. Amid the resulting chaos, a small group of kids (Joel Courtney, Elle Fanning, Riley Griffiths, Ryan Lee, Gabriel Basso, and Zach Mills) have their own little coming-of-age drama.For the first hour or so, I thought I was watching a 5-star film. The kids, working on an amateur movie for a local film festival, are hilarious and touching. Unfortunately, the quality of the film deteriorates as the conventions of the sci-fi action plot assert themselves. The abilities of the creature are ill-defined; it just seems to be able to do whatever is convenient for the plot. The naturalistic kids become unconvincing action movie heroes. In this way, some of the best scenes are derailed even more spectacularly than the freight cars that kick off the whole thing.
Disappointing
I thought it was a disappointing movie. The beginning was confusing and then the ending was just not entertaining at all. I wouldn't recommend this movie. I thought the Green Lantern was much better.
Better then expected and worth seeing!
I just want to say that I really enjoyed this film and I could sit downand watch it all over again. If you haven't seen it, the go rent it andsit back and enjoy the ride but don't take it to serious, it is aimedat the middle school to high school age group in my opinion. Anotherreviewer mentioned that it had an E.T. feel to it and I would have toagree. It even gave me the same feel good feeling while I was watchingit. I thought the acting was very good for most, especially ElleFanning.. She was simply amazing. About the only thing that was alittle over the top was the train wreck, although it was cool; just notvery realistic. But then few movies (if any) are perfect. It's wellmade and worth seeing.
Elle Fanning in Super 8
I had never heard of Elle Fanning before seeing Super 8. Her performance in the movie impressed me so much I wanted to write about it. In my opinion, this movie proves she is a great actress and will hopefully have a long career in movies. Her acting is so believable and at the right times emotionally powerful. I sat down to be entertained by a light Spielberg-esque film and ended up flabbergasted at how much her performance affected me. She is a real artist and I can't wait to see her next film. How can someone so young be so skilled at portraying and evoking emotions in others. All I can say is WOW! And, by the way, I don't think I'm in her demographic as a middle aged person.
One of the best of 2011!
Sometimes, you go to see a film and it doesn't leave much of an impression on you. Sometimes it's quite the opposite and you're left to thinking about the film and the story over and over again. "Super 8" - wunderkind director J.J. Abrams' third feature film (as a director) - is definitely slotted in the latter category! When I first viewed the movie trailer, I instantly thought of Steven Spielberg (who produced the film) meets Stephen King - in the vein of Stand by Me (25th Anniversary Edition) [Blu-ray] (published as "The Body" in Different Seasons (Signet)), It and Hearts In Atlantis (specifically "Low Men in Yellow Coats"). After seeing the film, my hunch was correct. If you are a fan of Spielberg's early blockbusters like E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (Widescreen Edition) or Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Two-Disc 30th Anniversary Ultimate Edition) [Blu-ray], or King's previously mentioned books, then this is the film to go see!What amazed me so much about the story were the characters; they are so likeable and relatable that it makes it easy for the viewer to take these people to heart. The kid actors are all effective and talented, however their characters still don't quite reach The Goonies [Blu-ray] status. Nevertheless, they are realistic and fun - especially the lead, Joe (Joel Courtney), Alice (Elle Fanning), and Charles (Riley Griffiths). Now, let me take a moment here to completely and shamelessly praise actress Elle Fanning. Big sister Dakota Fanning better watch her back because Elle's performance in this is phenomenal! She encapsulates both a boy's first crush as well as that cool, beautiful girl you knew in school, all in one - the kind of girl who talks and you just fall in love with her. Plus, she brings exceptional emotional depth to her character and the film; just watch the scene between Alice and Joe when they are watching film footage of Joe's dead mother - a raw, stirring scene. The heartrending bond that she and Joe have in the film helps the story along to prove that this is more than just some monster flick. As I grow older, I find that my most favorite films are the ones that explore the intricacies of peoples' connectivity and relationships to one another. For all of its special effects and monster hijinks (like in Cloverfield [Blu-ray], Abrams borrows from Spielberg's Jaws (Two-Disc 30th Anniversary Edition) in not showing too much of the monster), "Super 8" focuses on relationships; and it is not in some hokey way, but in a way that imbues the film with a kind of magic. It's that same magic that you feel when you're a kid and the simplest things in life are what matter most - that magic of innocence, growing up, first love, exploring the world, and standing for what you believe in.Most of Spielberg's movies have "daddy issues" where the father of the main character(s) is either dead or has left, and Abrams slightly shifts this theme with having the daddy made a widow (the always-likeable Kyle Chandler) who is estranged from his son Joe and has issues with the town drunk, also Alice's dad (Ron Eldard). Add in Joe's crush on Alice plus his growing friendship with the other boys (especially his friend, Charles), and there's a well-balanced summer blockbuster. This is not one of those "deep meaning" movies either; people die ... violently, things blow up (a lot). Considering the other summer releases this year, I believe I'm safe in saying that "Super 8" is the summer movie of the year! There is something about this film that makes you want it to last a little longer, but it's good it did not because then it would risk being too overdone. It is not the story that you want to last so much as it is a peek into the journey of these characters' lives.An aspect I really despise as a critic is writing (or telling people) about how good a film is and then those people going in with such high expectations and when I ask them how it was, they say, "It sucked," or, "It was OK, but I didn't see why you thought it was so great." I know what I say is going to set the bar high for most audiences out there, and they might not like it. It doesn't matter. No matter what you say as a critic, you stand by your claim; my claim is that this is one of the best movies of the year. And with "Super 8," the proof is in the story, the direction and the acting.
Entertaing, okay movie
I thought this movie started out great, but then got a little cartoonish. I liked it and at the same time wish it was a better story.
Cloverfield: The Beginning
J.J. Abrams doesn't like to give away much, especially in his film'strailers. It's a wonder they ever make money for those who don't knowwho he is.He did it with 2008's Cloverfield and now with Super 8. If the comingattraction was wide open, like most movie previews, it would probablyhave a tagline such as "If you liked Goonies, Stand by Me or E.T.,you'd like "Dang; I promised not to spoil too much, like what's already been givenaway by a lot of viewers and critics. Suffice to say: yes, it's likethose and it's set in 1979, so anyone up for a little nostalgia, shouldsee this immediately.I relished in the homage played and the inside jokes for many things,including the "advanced technology," just recently defunct, walk-man.But, similar to the 2009 Abrams reboot: Star Trek, the props and feelare just part of the fun and joy.Those were fantastic. This guy KNOWS kids, namely adolescent boys. Hehad them pegged and the timeframe they were dealing with. This feelsextremely like it was made in 1979, but with today's technology. So, Iguess I'm saying: it's not only great for nostalgia's sake, it'sperfect for those of us who not only grew up in that era, but for thosefilm lovers of the above mentioned films/series.Allow me to go into the plot line, from pretty much the trailer's POVplus a little more that won't spoil too much: several Ohio kids arefilming a movie when all of a sudden a train crashes  not just intheir presence, but right on top of them and something escapes.Following that, the town is thrown into turmoil due to lost dogs,appliances and electricity. Toss in the big, bad government/militaryand intentional confusion and you have another throwback to the 1970'smonster movies.It definitely goes beyond that, as it has a lot to do with the film thekids are making, in addition to well, young love.I really don't want to give away too much more. About the plot that is.What I will comment on is all the other wonderful aspects beyond thefantastic re-creation of an era I grew up in. Such as greatcinematography, both depth to the characters and chemistry between them you'd think they really had known each other since kindergarten andspecial effects that were not only good, but brought you back toanother timeframe: the original Jurassic Park from 1993.Now, the movie's not perfect the "creature" that's hidden fromaudiences that haven't seen this, is really clichéd and not veryimaginative. (It really reminded me of much larger 'Species 8472' fromStar Trek: Voyager. Wow, that's a double whammy: it dates me inaddition to outing me as both a trekker and a Voyager fan. For all ofthat, I declare: I am not ashamed.) -http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Species_8472Also, it has severe pacing problems and yeah, a lot of it could've beenedited out. I'm curious to hear (in the future Bluray's audiocommentary) if this was intentional. For, when you go back to movies ofour (or could just be my) era, it was pretty much the same thing. Itgenerally took forever to get to the "goods." A perfect example is:Superman: The Movie.When I was a kid, the same age as the boys/girl in this movie, I lovedSuperman II. Why? Because Superman shows up all-but immediately andthere's tons of action. And yet, Superman: The Movie is 10x the filmthe first sequel was even though it takes well over an hour beforeKal-El finds his tights.These slow, plot-building/character-developing scenes were common inthe 1970s, 1980s and probably before that. Okay, I get that, and I getthe yearning to bring us all back. I don't think they needed to go thatfar.So, I don't think I'll be seeing this again anytime soon  I'm reallytesty when it comes to slow-moving films that would be better off witha higher speed, even though, I did have a ton of fun during this. Thedialogue between the kids wasn't just REAL, but often enormouslyhilarious. Not to mention the acting/closeness/chemistry from the kidswas genuine, namely from lead children Charles (Riley Griffiths  whoreally channeled the heavier-set kid from the introduction in IndianaJones and the Last Crusade) and lead Joe (Joel Courtney  who is thisgeneration's "Elliot" from E.T. He not only did a fantastic job here,he literally carried the entire movie with his acting, emotions andfacial expressions. If I was a 13-year-old boy again, he would be theone I would both relate and yearn to be the most.)I would highly recommend this fun movie. It does get darker and moreviolent as the movie progresses  something it doesn't promise in thefirst half  so, leave the little kids at home. If I were back to thesekid's ages, when I absolutely loved films like this, I would probablywatch this hundreds of times and love every minute of it, despite my"grown up" viewpoint nowadays.Side Note: OH I forgot Don't forget to stay through 90% of the endcredits. I knew to, thanks due a certain movie-review podcast,http://www.fatguysatthemovies.com/. I did see a lot, if not more thantwo-thirds of the audience, leave before the "surprise" finale duringthe end credits. Make sure you stick around if you really had a greattime, like I did, it'll be enhanced in the conclusion.
lost 1.1
This review is from: Super 8 (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo + Digital Copy) (Blu-ray) if u loved lost then this will bring back a lot of memories especially the soundtrack and the way the story unfolds. jj abrams does a fantastic job with the movie and charcters. i cant wait for his next release. definitely recommend this movie to all jj fans. You wont be disappointed. maybe someday he will make a movie for lost.
Awww What a surprising boring movie
I really do not understand why People give good reviews for thismovie,After Star Trek I was really expecting a good movie from thisdirector,but I was wrong,Really really wrong on that one. The acting isreally bad,the story just makes no sens at all,script is really awful,the music is not great either,I just didn't see a good point in thismovie. This is a total director failure. The Monster looks just likethe one from cloverfield,the love story was real bad,the evolution ofthe characters are just ridiculously rushed, I think JJ abrams justtried too much to make a big new E.T Movie type with deep charactersand story,the movie turned out to be a joke. The worst thing of all Ithink it's that you only see the monster 3 or 4 minutes and the end isjust as awful as the acting in this movie. Really if you're interestedin seeing this movie because you think is going to be a kickass alienmovie,well you're totally wrong as I was before seeing it.Do not wastemoney for such a lame movie,DO NOT trust IMDb rating on that movie.
Enjoyable but lacks suspense and excitement
I thought all the kids were marvelous in their roles but the film is so full of holes and contrary to what many are saying the film lacks suspense and excitement. If your looking for a nicely told warm and fuzzy and romantic tale of kids running around town filming a super 8 movie then you will enjoy the flick. If you are looking for a story than has a terror trashing alien then you will be disappointed unless four minutes of the alien on film satisfy that need. And what with the F word and the ***** words. Why did they have to put this language in what is a family film. Just saying.
Mostly fun, mostly absurd, partly great theatrics, suburban dystopia redefined
Super 8 (2011)Oh dear, I guess Stephen Spielberg knows what might make money, and heproduced this movie without taking a huge risk. And writer/directorJ.J. Abrams buys into the extravaganza of the Spielberg kind of sci-fistory, with suburban America on the fringe of something big andotherworldly. It could have worked even with the endlessly overworkedclichés, with better writing and better direction. Yes, that would beyou, Mr. Abrams.It helps to know going in that this is a teen movie, and teen viewerswill get a lot more out of it because the main crew of actors are allhigh schoolers, and convincing ones. In fact, the strength of the wholething depends on these kids, who are a great ensemble, smart andimmature in turns and in unexpected gaffes and laughs. It's almost funenough watching them to get through the rest. But there is the rest, which is combination E.T. (quite literally, analien wanting to go home) and the "Andromeda Strain" (where themilitary rushes in to face an extraterrestrial force, revisitedrecently in "The Crazies" in 2010). The highlight for me was the lastpart, where a nostalgically sweet small town suburbia goes into acolorful apocalypse. Never mind the improbability of the plot, thesuper spaceship, the monster with unreasonable (and not quiteexplained) powers, or even the history of such a thing going undetecteduntil now, surviving surely on something besides nuts and berries.In a very fun twist, there is at first a movie within a movie, whereour high schoolers are making their own short and entertaining movie.That's where the title comes in (the time seems to be roughly 1975,before video). The train crash at the beginning is so excessive (itgoes on forever, with enough burning and screeching for several movies)you know that something is amiss. And not just in the scene (this is noordinary train) but in the direction (there is a woeful lack ofbalance). Pauses happen when there isn't time, and things are freneticwhen a little pacing might have added more suspense and less kineticfrenzy.This might all make it sound like a disaster of a movie rather than adisaster movie, but it's somewhere between. If you fit the demographic,it might work. If you don't mind sitting through some ludicrous momentsfor the much better ones, it does work (this would be me, Mr. Abrams).And if you like seriously inventive sci-fi disaster flicks, this won'tquite cut it.
Disappointing, plain, predictable story
I expected a lot more from an Abrams film. Maybe that was my problem.Anyone who has seen Abrams' other movies or TV shows knows what toexpect. Twist endings every episode, surprise character revelations andcliff hangers. Super 8 delivered absolutely none of that, insteadreplacing it with a very normal, predictable ending that most peoplewill figure out after a short time into the film.The movie tries to pull off what Cloverfield did: an obscured,unidentified alien that nobody sees and lives to tell about. However,it falls flat on it's face for two reasons; this time, the alien has anagenda instead of just being on a rampage, and the military proves tobe a much bigger threat than the monster does.Another gripe is that - and this surprised me, because, again, anAbrams movie - were plot holes you could drive trucks through (or, inthis case, trains). For the sake of not having this tagged ascontaining spoilers, I won't go into detail, but I'll just say they areobvious if you think about it after the movie.However, the children were (mostly) interesting characters that Iliked. Other than the "lead" character, all of them had quirky littleproblems that made them fun to listen to and watch. In addition, allthe children are amazing actors and I look forward to seeing them inbetter movies sometime down the line.I understand that this movie is less about the monster, more about thecharacters but that doesn't save it because the actual developmentbehind the characters is boring and as predictable as the monster plot.Overall, I was disappointed. The plot lacked any real substance thatmattered and beneath all the hype and speculation was a plain alienmovie that everyone has seen before. Definitely not Abram's proudestmoment, and anyone expecting to enter Super 8 and find the usual thingsthat Abrams brings to a movie will be extremely unsatisfied.
The JJ Abrams Formula
I'm as big of a Abrams fan as anyone but I am starting to find aformula that he, in my opinion needs to separate himself from. Inoticed this with LOST and CLOVERFIELD specifically and now with SUPER8. As you know in all three of these Abrams likes to keep it verysecret and not tell you anything to build up the hype by producing veryvague trailers. Then when you watch the movie its almost the same thingthroughout the movie or show its all build up. This is cool like oncein my opinion to really know nothing until the end and it would be okayif it were more frequent if the delivery was beyond par but in allthese films the build up always far surpasses the delivery. The endingspecifically in SUPER 8 and LOST are super weak and/or unoriginal withCLOVERFIELD the whole movie is just build up no attempt to deliver aconcluding endings. I also am aware he is producer in those other concepts but I certainlythink he has creative control. BUT!!! this still was a great film inmany other ways, it was a great homage to Spielbergs earlier films. Thekid actors did really well and had pretty witty lines that wereconstant. The action had great suspense so that's why I gave this filma 7 and the ending or final "delivery" I would give it somewherebetween a 1 and 3 but had that been slightly more original orinteresting I would of easily given this film a 9 or 10 but again theend was so weak to me that it ruined it by at least three stars.
A Touching, Exciting Summer Blockbuster
If there is any wonder about what Abrams is capable of in terms ofbeing a filmmaker, Super 8 should sufficiently debunk this. While he iscertainly a great producer, this is Abrams first original picture. Butnever fear, he succeeds again with a fine picture that will warm yourheart and excite you.In case you are wondering what this whole thing is about, I will try tokeep the plot as a minimum so as to save much of the surprise. Joe Lambis helping his best buddy make a zombie film in the 1970's when theywitness a horrendous train wreck. What follows are several days ofunexplained activity that alters all their lives in exciting andfrightening ways. Super 8 has been said to be reminiscent of all those old AmblinSpielberg films of the 80's, and it's not far off. There is a good mixof several films in here, including Stand By Me, ET, Close Encounters,and other classic films. Some will blow this off as nothing special,merely a nostalgic trip trying to replicate Spielberg. But in Abramshands, this is a well crafted and very well directed film. The childactors here are some of the best most emotionally provocative that Ihave seen in a long, long time. Elle Fanning, in particular, isfantastic. All the children are, and it's something that has rarelybeen seen since Spielberg, who is arguably the best child director inthe industry. But beyond the actors, the cinematography is also of note. Firstly, thetrain wreck is handled extremely well. It's both frightening andexciting and truly underscores the damage and effect that it will haveon the town. And when the creature from within the train begins towreak havoc, it's extremely effective. Though this is not a horrormovie, horror film principles are applied in getting the most out ofthe tension of these scenes. Some reviews have called the sci-fielements weak, but I would argue against that. There are issues, whichI will get into later, but the scenes dealing with this creature beforeit's big reveal are nice and scary. These scenes are countered witheven better drama. As stated, these child actors are fantastic, andthat really makes the scenes in which the budding love story or familydrama shines through. Of course, the film has it's issues, the reason it's an 8 and nothigher. First of all, I took issue with some of the separation betweenthe monster plot line and the plots involving the kids and their drama.It's almost like two films are being played out here, and while thatmay have been how the film initially started (as ideas for twodifferent films coming together), it's kind of disheartening to seethat they never truly figured out how to make the two interweavenaturally. My second issue involves some story elements that seem likethey could have been developed more, namely the father-son relationshipbetween Joe and his father. His dad spends much of the time trying tofigure out what's going on. We know there are issues there between Joeand his father, and one scene between the two showing this doesn'treally encompass the true nature and effect of these problems. It wouldhave also been nice to see more interaction between the two, but Iwon't spoil anything about why I think this. These are minor issues though for a film that is well crafted and trulyenjoyable. Yes, the film is quite nostalgic. However, there are a greatdeal of touches Abrams puts in himself that make this his own film. Forthose who grew up on all those old Amblin films, this will warm yourheart, and for those who didn't grow up on those, you'll have a chanceto know what it felt like to see a film like ET for the first time.Simply put, call this film this generations ET or Stand By Me.