I would like to take this opportunity to thank the makers of Super 8. Thank you, J.J Abrams and company for allowing me the opportunity to see what it would have been like to have seen a film like E.T. or Close Encounters of the Third Kind or even Jaws in theaters. As a guy who was born in 1991, I am very grateful.
I understand Super 8 wasn’t quite on par with those films as far as quality, but it had the same spirit. It was a blast of fresh air to see a summer movie that was content just having fun. No darker themes, no sex scenes, and no leaving it open to create some sort of mega trilogy. Just a romp through the imagination of its creator, and a nostalgic glimpse at an interesting time, especially for movies.
It never fails to amaze me how far good characters can take a film. It was especially surprising in this film, as I nearly always hate children in movies. But this group of kids were instantly likable, and more importantly, realistic. They didn’t sound like a surrogate for a screenwriter desperately trying to squeeze laughs from an audience. They sounded like real kids, and what we hear from them was just us overhearing some of their conversations. They don’t know we’re listening, and they don’t care.
The scares in the film were fine, but really, the scares and the monster in general took second seat to the main bunch of characters. At times, the monster plot almost seemed to be a distraction from the main attraction that was these kids attempts to make a zombie movie. It never became a real issue, but the idea was there, gently tugging at my subconscious in some scenes.
While I realize it’s impossible, I almost wish Abrams and company had refrained from using CGI at all, just for the purpose of rounding out the nostalgic 1970’s feel. I’m probably the only one, but I would have loved to see a claymation monster, and old school effects.
In the end, this movie isn’t about the CGI, or the monster, or the viral marketing campaign. It’s about a feeling, and it’s a feeling that hasn’t been experienced by audiences for a long time.
4/5
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