An adventurous sci-fi flick featuring young stars in the making

Rating: 8/10 (11 April 2013)

On the whole, Super 8 is a fun, exciting experience for anyone from nerds to jocks, teens to adults (note the certificate) and film gurus to bored families. I thought the plot, while somewhat generic when compared to similar films, was sound, had its moments and was adequate in terms of the balance between action and drama. The CGI, too, was good to the point that it was convincing, and I thought the acting, especially by the younger members of the cast, stood out among films in this genre as being very good. Joel Courtney is impressive as the troubled Joe Lamb, Elle Fanning is excellent as the equally troubled Alice Dainard, and the rest of the child cast contribute to the humour and drama shared within the group of kids with their quirky personalities and funny one-liners. Generally a great family film (watch out for one use of the 'f' word) that will be enjoyed by all who watch it. So I give a relatively -super 8/10 for Super 8.