Review - Super 8

Purely Fun Moviemaking


Joe (Joel Courtney) and Charles (Riley Griffiths) have been friends for a long time. Despite a devastating incident for Joe, he wants to push forward and help Charles finish his long overdue film. Charles is a filmmaker and as his right hand, Joe is in charge of makeup and sound. Together with their friends Martin (Gabriel Basso), Cary (Ryan Lee) and Preston (Zach Mills) the five are setting out to create a great zombie movie.


When Charles approaches the virtually unapproachable Alice (Elle Fanning) and she agrees to be his female lead, the cast is set for a special night’s shoot. A scene that Charles has just crafted will be shot at the train station and they will all sneak out after midnight to make it happen.


But while shooting this scene they encounter a passing train. The train serves as a great backdrop for their scene. But this train holds more than a backdrop and a massive derailment leads to an entire town having their lives changed forever. What was on the train and how will it impact everyone? And could that simple Super 8 camera hold the key to seeing just what is at the bottom of this mysterious occurrence?


Specifically non-detailed in my description of the film, Super 8 possesses a secret. This secret really shouldn’t be revealed prior to a viewer experiencing things, so I’m not going to spoil it. Fact is this film is as much of an action summer blockbuster film as a coming of age story with friends in the harshest of circumstances.


The kids cast in Super 8 are absolutely crucial to its success and they work amazingly well. Joel, Riley, Gabriel, Ryan and Zach work extremely well together and with Elle Fanning and Kyle Chandler. If they didn’t work or seemed more actor than kid, the film would have had an extremely hard time connecting.


One of the real strong aspects of Super 8 is in the fact that the details of the surprise are kept secret deep into the movie. The tension builds without being overexposed to the cause for the tension.


But with all the good aspects of Super 8; there are some things that keep this from being that major blockbuster that I had hoped it would be. The “schmaltz” factor is through the roof. Instead of relying on the story that had been created, it felt like we had an attempt to pull things back to give us more “warm fuzzies” that letting the plot go.


Some of the conflict just felt forced between the characters and really unnecessary. The aspect of what happened to Joe’s mom feels forced together in a way that is unnatural and pulls back from the main story.


But despite the small issues, it still is a fun time at the movies. Staying through the credits will give you the full Super 8 film to watch in its entirety. Super 8 takes us back to a simpler time, and treats us to a lot of fun. It reminds me of the pure fun aspect of moviemaking and that in and of itself is a reason to check it out.


B


Super 8
Paramount Pictures


Director: JJ Abrams
Cast: Kyle Chandler, Elle Fanning, Joel Courtney, Gabriel Basso, Riley Griffiths, Ryan Lee, Zach Mills


Rating: PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi action and violence, language and some drug use.
Runtime: 1 hour 52 minutes