This is kind of a strange film. It’s good—well written and directed, appealingly acted. It’s just… odd. Basically, sci-fi bigwig J. J. Abrams (Lost, Cloverfield, Fringe) has made an old Steven Spielberg film. Spielberg produced and helped develop the story. It’s even set in 1979, for no reason I can think of except that that was the heart of Spielberg’s glory days when he was making great films like E.T., Close Encounters and Raiders of the Lost Ark instead of “great” films like Schindler’s List and Saving Private Ryan.
So in Super 8 we’re in a small town and there’s a bunch of outsider kids with bikes who make movies and deal with childhood tragedies and then some strange stuff happens but we concentrate on the human story instead of plunging right into the sci-fi and everyone ends up with their heads tilted back gazing up at the night sky, all very much ala Spielberg. Only, because Abrams is Abrams and not Spielberg, it’s all a little darker than it should be and the touching resolution feels a little more tragic than uplifting and the childlike wonder stumbles over an understanding of evil that Spielberg simply has never developed.
So… I liked this film. I loved the kids. Elle Fanning was wonderful. The human story was really involving. The sci-fi stuff was fine. But when it was over, I was sort of left thinking, “Why did that happen?” By which I mean: why did J. J. Abrams make a Steven Spielberg film instead of a J. J. Abrams one? Strange.
I think the movie was set in the 70s because it was named Super 8, which was the film size the kid was using for his movie. If it had been set now, it would have had to be titled ScanDisc or Thumb Drive or Digital Media. Those just don’t sound intriguing.
And yes it was a strange film. Kind of like the dark side of ET.
The thing I liked best was that it was a movie about kids acting like kids. I’m tired of movies about kids who are secret agents and the like.
I was disappointed in the film. It started out wonderfully–the adolescent characters were indeed engaging and talented, and there were some great family-related moments–but about halfway through, it became obvious what was going to happen. The sci-fi stuff was technically amazing but entirely predictable and I’m afraid, pretty boring. The emotional wallop supposed to be felt at the end seemed forced and trite. As Klavan says, Elle Fanning was terrific, as were the other kids. I look forward to seeing them all in better-written fare.