A Short Review of Super 8

J.J. Abrams knows how to tell a story and the supporting character, Charles, in his new movie Super 8 seems to be an extension of himself, desperate to make a movie for a number of reasons, fascinated by the power of the art of filmmaking and storytelling.  Abrams has a great grasp on the language of cinema, and in the hands of producer Steven Spielberg, Super 8 is an enjoyable little science fiction thriller with a great young cast who deliver wonderful performances.  Joel Courtney in the lead as Joe Lamb is fantastic (and reminded me a bit of Patrick Fugit from Almost Famous), but Elle Fanning as Alice steals the show with her great emotional range.

The ensemble cast of kids holds this movie together, reminiscient of some of my favorite movies in the past in which friends band together for an unexpected but life-altering adventure like The Goonies or Stand By Me. 

Abrams sets his movie in 1979 probably for no other reason than because he needed it as a plot point -- having to wait a few days to develop some very important 8mm film which reveals exactly what escaped from a train crash that the children witnessed.  If Super 8 was set in the present day and the characters were making a movie with today's technology, they would be able to view the digital footage right away and not have to wait for days to have the celluloid processed.  Whatever the rationale, the movie works well as a period piece and gives the tale a nice nostalgic tone -- I could tell Abrams was trying to capture the feel of Spielberg's earlier films, such as Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

I liked the fact that the movie takes its time revealing the "monster."  Just as Spielberg did so effectively with Jaws, the suspense builds and tension mounts as clues are provided to the audience revealing piece by piece exactly what's going on.  The final revelation, while somewhat corny, was effective. 

As he proved with his hit TV shows Lost and Fringe, Abrams is a master at delivering speculative mysteries and fleshing out intriguing characters.  With Super 8, following on the heels of his blockbuster Star Trek reboot, he has proven to be an excellent movie-maker (even if he still has to learn that lens flares are distracting, not artistic.) 

If you're looking for a fun, old-fashioned sci-fi flick, check out Super 8.