(2011, PG-13, 118 min) / Paramount
Written and directed by J.J. Abrams
Starring: Joel Courtney, Elle Fanning, Kyle Chandler
I remember that the first time I heard about “Super 8” was a few months after “Cloverfield” (which was produced by Abrams) was released. It first was announced as a sequel to that film, but it more or less sounded like a horror movie (and what? Is “Cloverfield” a comedy?). But, matter-of-fact, like I absolutely loved “...Field”, I wanted to see this movie more than anything in the world. Then, it was said that Steven “Blockbuster” Spielberg was going to join the project. After that, Abrams said that this project was going to be completely different from “Clover…”, but that didn’t turned me down. More on the contrary, it seemed a tiny little bit more appealing. And, anyway, when it got out and I saw it, it accomplished to satisfy my expectations.
So, the story’s set in the summer of 1979, Lillian, Ohio, where a group of friends who are making a movie, witness a train crash from where something inexplicable (a monster, perhaps?) emerges, capturing the whole disaster with a Super 8 camera. After that, they start investigaten disappearances and a possible explanation to all of it.
And, to my mind, the film delivers exactly what it promises: to be an exciting and very thrilling sci-fi movie. Yet, the references and/or ties to “Close Encounters of the Third Kind”, “E.T.” and that type of (good old) movies are clearly visible, because the film reflects a certain kind of nostalgia onto the viewer. And, I also think that it is a reference to those times when Abrams was a kid, and imagined the type of fantastic story/film he or any other kid of that age would want to live/star in (I believe, most specially, he would want to).
Some of it, even, reminds me of Jonathan Lethem’s 2003 novel “The Fortress of Solitude” (except, of course, the book’s part about racial tension). And, I refer to that as because this film is about two friends (in this case would be Joe and Charles) living through a fantastical situation (the monster’s invasion) with various friends (Cary, Martin and Preston), finding love (in the film it is just Joe that falls for Alice), seeing the musical culture, of the moment, around them (with featured bands like The Knack, Blondie, Electric Light Orchestra, Chic), exploring what friendship really is, and most of all, their teenager-y that bonds them all together. Of course, this is all just a comparison to that novel. I’m not saying it is exactly like it, but I think it’s worth mentioning.
Now, I think that everybody made their part the way they were supposed to; the kids were accurately great on their respective roles. Newcomer Joel Courtney (as Joe Lamb) was fantastic. But, the real deal, the one that impressed me the most, was Elle Fanning (as Alice Dainard), whom, a year ago, gave us a brilliant example of her amazingly big potential in “Somewhere”. I, also, enjoyed the performances by Zach Mills (as Preston), Riley Griffiths (as Charles) and Ron Eldard (as Alice’s estranged father, Louis).
So, the writing, notwithstanding it isn’t, really, (as) unusually original (as “Cloverfield” was), it certainly is a bit different, despite using familiar literary devices. But, I believe, it’s something that Abrams or the actors got right that makes this film somewhat unique among the movies of its kind. (And, unlike "Clover...", the monster is fully seen on the screen, sometimes, even breathing right in front of you.)
Finally, “Super 8” is one of a kind. It is fun, exciting, thrilling, and even moving. It is, probably, a very familiar look to the monster-contacts-with-human world, but with (kind of) another scope.
Verdict:
It doesn’t functions the same effectively paranoiac way “Cloverfield” does, but it functions on its very own way. It is a lovely, funny, heartwarming, enthralling, exciting and thrilling ride. It also evokes some kind of nostalgia onto the viewer’s mind, about other films and those care-free times where having fun was everything, and the rest was surplus. And it also, automatically, adds itself to the list of classics of contemporary science fiction.
It doesn’t functions the same effectively paranoiac way “Cloverfield” does, but it functions on its very own way. It is a lovely, funny, heartwarming, enthralling, exciting and thrilling ride. It also evokes some kind of nostalgia onto the viewer’s mind, about other films and those care-free times where having fun was everything, and the rest was surplus. And it also, automatically, adds itself to the list of classics of contemporary science fiction.
