Super 8 may have a marketing problem. While it seems to be sold as a Jaws or Cloverfield type film—one with a big bad monster lurking around—the film borrows more from E.T. and The Goonies than your typical scary, monster movie. But don’t worry, folks, there’s still plenty of action, and there are definitely tense moments, but Super 8 reminds us all that awesome special effects and great action are worthless without a really great, compelling story with emotional weight and well-developed characters. Luckily, J.J. Abrams gives us all of the above.
Read more after the jump!
Read more after the jump!
It’s no mistake that Super 8 borrows heavily from earlier Steven Spielberg works—he helped produce Super 8. And the homage is certainly welcome. The film harkens back to a different style of filmmaking, one that is nostalgic for days gone by, childhood innocence, and just pure fun. Of course, this is all mixed together with Abrams love of lens flares, but I digress. Super 8 is about a group of middle-school kids—a bossy director, a pyromaniac explosives “expert,” a squeamish lead actor, and our hero, Joe (Joel Courtney), the makeup artist—who set out to make a zombie movie over the summer while sneaking around at midnight to get the perfect shots. One night Alice (Elle Fanning) joins the ragtag team for a nighttime shoot at a train station, where Joe witnesses a truck careening down the tracks, setting off a spectacular train crash. Following the crash bizarre events start taking place in the small Ohio town, and the kids take it upon themselves to investigate the mystery that has the Air Force and Joe’s deputy dad (Kyle Chandler) all up in arms.
While Abrams could easily give audiences what we’re constantly told that we apparently want—non-stop action—he takes a subtler route. He introduces our characters with quickly telling us that Joe’s mom has recently died and both he and his dad are grieving her tremendously. And he also quickly builds the chemistry among the team of adolescent boys passionate for zombie movies, as well as between Joe and Alice. There’s a lovely scene where Joe sheepishly applies makeup to Alice’s face, and it’s a wonderfully quiet moment amongst the tension and chaos to come. Abrams also finds moments to give us great comedic moments, too, which worked so well in Abram’s megamystery TV show (you may have heard of it…).
While Super 8 doesn’t rest solely on his shoulders Courtney takes on the hero role quite nicely and helps lead the film well. In his first role, he’s actually a talented young actor that’s great at connected with his peers and the audience. He also plays off nicely with Chandler as the grieving widower trying to keep his town safe. Fanning is also quickly becoming a far better actress than her older sister and has a bright future.
And of course, it’s not just all great acting and storytelling—there is indeed action and suspense. While the special effects aren’t the most top-notch I’ve ever seen, and I feel like Abrams does better with just tension than actually showing us what the mystery is, it all works together really well. Plus, the train crash is truly a beautifully executed action sequence where train cars fly through the air and explode all around our young heroes. It’s quite thrilling.
Don’t go into Super 8 with the same mindset as you will for the next Transformers flick. Think of it more of a Goonies for the next generation (but with more explosions and mystery). If you want a little bit of story and heart behind your summer blockbuster, do yourself a favor and see Super 8.
--Darcie Duttweiler
While Abrams could easily give audiences what we’re constantly told that we apparently want—non-stop action—he takes a subtler route. He introduces our characters with quickly telling us that Joe’s mom has recently died and both he and his dad are grieving her tremendously. And he also quickly builds the chemistry among the team of adolescent boys passionate for zombie movies, as well as between Joe and Alice. There’s a lovely scene where Joe sheepishly applies makeup to Alice’s face, and it’s a wonderfully quiet moment amongst the tension and chaos to come. Abrams also finds moments to give us great comedic moments, too, which worked so well in Abram’s megamystery TV show (you may have heard of it…).
While Super 8 doesn’t rest solely on his shoulders Courtney takes on the hero role quite nicely and helps lead the film well. In his first role, he’s actually a talented young actor that’s great at connected with his peers and the audience. He also plays off nicely with Chandler as the grieving widower trying to keep his town safe. Fanning is also quickly becoming a far better actress than her older sister and has a bright future.
And of course, it’s not just all great acting and storytelling—there is indeed action and suspense. While the special effects aren’t the most top-notch I’ve ever seen, and I feel like Abrams does better with just tension than actually showing us what the mystery is, it all works together really well. Plus, the train crash is truly a beautifully executed action sequence where train cars fly through the air and explode all around our young heroes. It’s quite thrilling.
Don’t go into Super 8 with the same mindset as you will for the next Transformers flick. Think of it more of a Goonies for the next generation (but with more explosions and mystery). If you want a little bit of story and heart behind your summer blockbuster, do yourself a favor and see Super 8.
--Darcie Duttweiler
RSS Feed