Alien movies now a days are a dime a dozen and usually that dime is only worth a penny. But what do you get when the fresh eyes of director and writer J.J. Abrams teams up with the master of extra-terrestrials Steven Spielberg?
A beautiful creation called Super 8.
The movie felt like a tribute to all the Spielberg classics from the past and reminded me a great deal of “Close encounters of the third kind” and “E.T.” with familiar sound effects and suspense from “Jurassic Park” and a pinch of humor and friendship from “The Goonies”.
The film takes place in 1979 and follows a group of kids filming a zombie flick using a super 8 camera- Hey, that’s the name of the movie. A massive train wreck occurs while the kids are shooting a scene next to the railroad tracks and that’s when things start to get a little interesting.
Before you know it the town is filled with U.S. Air Force soldiers who are keeping all information on the matter a secret. The small town has become mayhem with the townspeople running around scared and paranoid. Dogs are running away, electronics of all types have been stolen and the town sheriff has gone missing making Deputy Lamb (Kyle Chandler) the one to figure out this whole mess.
But how do you solve a mystery when you don’t know anything about it? You don’t. You let your son and his friends do it for you.
Deputy Lambs son Joe (Joel Courtney) and his movie making pals who witnessed the accident embark on an adventure of a life time to find their friend, rid the town of a gigantic alien and hopefully finish their zombie film.
Abrams really brought us back to the past with references to the Walkmen and cassette tapes, super 8 camera and film and I can’t help but mention the groovy clothes everyone was wearing. Even the camera angles and close ups made me feel as if I were watching an old Spielberg film.
I think what blew me away most about the film was the acting. Of course Kyle Chandler was great but he usually always is so that’s no surprise but the kids were just so unbelievably talented it’s hard to think they can’t even drive yet. The kids are what made the film seem real. They brought a Goonies like feel to the film through humor and just being themselves.
Just a warning for those parents out there, the film does use profane language, drug references and some graphic violence.
Overall I give Super 8 a super rating of 4.5 et phone homes out of 5. Maybe if John Williams did the music, Super 8 could have gotten a perfect score.
No comments:
Post a Comment