Super 8: Review By Diaigma

"PRODUCTION VALUE!" - Charles

Last year, cinemas across the country caught the buzz of J. J. Abrams' latest film venture with a mysterious train wreck and something pounding on the hatch. From that moment, we wanted to know what was in that freight car. The man knows how to build hype with a favorable outcome. While it's no secret that this film is a love letter to Spielberg and other films of the late 70s/early 80s, there's a blending of stories here that, in the end, doesn't quite live up to expectations - a serious danger when using hype as your selling point. Led by superb young actors, Super 8 succeeds in transporting us to the era when summer blockbusters were born, but its production value is lacking, or worse, than those cherished films of thirty years ago.

Joe Lamb lost his mother in a terrible steelworks accident and has since struggled to find his place with only his deputy of a father to raise him. His friends, and his crush for a local girl, help him through this tough time, but when they go to the train station to film a scene for Charles' movie, they're in for a derailing surprise that just might wreck their lives. From the fiery freights and burning metal, something emerges from the accident. Dogs run away. People go missing. The U.S. Air Force sends troops and issues an evacuation. The only thing that can shed light into what's going on happens to be in Charles' Super 8 camera. If these kids are going to solve the mystery and save their town, they need to develop the film and be ready for what they see.

The 1970's was just before my time, but close enough that I felt transported to the earliest memories of my childhood years (right down to Crispy Critters, a breakfast cereal that's no longer around). This scored serious points with me. Then there were the actors. They make an excellent group that's slightly reminiscent of The Goonies. Elle Fanning, above all else, stole the show. Acting like you are acting, and acting it well, is a real tough trick, but she drew me in with her pretended pleading and her undead stare. Kyle Chandler was also a perfect addition that calls for another edition.

The "Williamsical" score by Michael Giacchino, the setting, clothing, writing and camera work - stunning to say the least, so what's my beef? Why is it not perfect? For a film that's meant to be like another era of films, it relies too much on modern techniques (CGI). Practical effects are almost nonexistent here. The film making cast understands this principle and rant often of the importance of production value, but the real filmmaker utilized CGI (cheap CGI) like a horde of sugar-high middle graders in an ice cream parlor. I mean, the computer work for the original Jurassic Park looked better.

The realistic use of models and creature prosthetics would have helped immensely. The train wreck did not look real, nor did the fate of some tanks. The creature itself was something of a letdown. It's difficult to care about an alien that just wants to go home when it's capturing, and eating, innocent civilians while trying to put a ship together (and has a face that's too much like a beloved Spielberg alien). Perhaps Abrams was going for that B movie angle, which would have worked if implied caring about the creature wasn't a factor.

Another weakness is the limited range of the characters, fitting into a mold that they never leave (Cary's obsession with fireworks and zombies). In a very literal sense, Super 8 is Close Encounters, E.T., and Goonies thrown in a blunder with the finger held on frappe.

Not that that's a bad thing. Super 8 is still a fine piece of film making and a movie worth watching. The emotion is there, the tension between characters is great, and the true-to-life and awkward ritual of young love are enough to invoke the hearts and minds of young and old alike. We can only hope that Mr. Abrams will practice what his actors preach the next time around.