Not bad ... but

Rating: Null/10 (11 August 2011)

Super 8 is JJ Abrams' ode to those great kids films that we remember from the 80s. You know, films like Back to the Future, E.T., Stand By Me, Explorers, Gremlins, Poltergeist and the like. These were good solid adventure films well written, beautifully directed and told from a kid's perspective.
The houses were always huge, the kids had all sorts of cool gadgets (this was the UK in the 80s after all), there was always acres of space a short BMX ride away (hey, those cool kids had BMXs dagnabbit). These kids had so much freedom to get into adventures. As kids growing up in rainy Gloucester we were jealous. Okay so, as we've grown up we've picked up on the unhappy childhoods many of this kids actually had (E.T.'s Elliot was fatherless, Stand By Me's Geordie was rejected by his father after his brother's death) and the surprisingly emotive subplots that hid beneath the kid-friendly adventures.
Super 8 has been unashamedly been trading on this nostalgia, in particular mentioning E.T. and Stand By Me. It even has the maestro of much of that early 80's magic, Steven Spielberg, as executive producer. Abrams has also got great pedigree with the creation of fun, smart entertainment - Alias, Cloverfield and the re-boot of Star Trek (I know, and Lost which was great for 3.5 seasons ... then fell apart).
So, does Super 8 deliver on all it's promise? Well ... kinda.
I think my biggest problem with Super 8 is that it feels like two completely different films stuck together, and not that successfully either.
The weaker element of the story is the monster movie, which is a bit of a surprise considering the director's previous work. Abrams does craft some decent jump moments and is a member of the "less is more" school of monster film-making, which is always more enjoyable than the gory munch brigade. But the monster is merely a cipher, having no real back-story and demanding no real investment from the audience, it's just there as a hook. There is one scene at the end, where some hidden depth in the creature is revealed (literally). This one scene ties the two parts of the story together and is largely successful, as well as unexpected, it's just that everything that has gone before is just so ... clumsy.
There's a nasty air force leader, a collection of mysterious objects, some magnetism, but it all just happens; there's no build up, or tension, or mystery outside of "what's that?" Spielberg, at his best, would have woven a sense of wonder into the strange goings on, and would have also kept his focus closely on the kids - Abrams wanders, giving most of the investigative role to our hero's estranged father, which takes away one of the great joys of the kids' flick - Kids trying to persuade Adult Authority that they're telling the truth. Remember that scene in The Goonies? Or E.T. with Elliot's mom? There's nothing like that in Super 8, and it suffers because of it.
However the other side of the tale, the story of recuperation after a trauma and the story of friendship and having an adventure, is thankfully much stronger. In fact, I found myself wishing that Abrams had explored this side of things more and avoided much of the bombast that jars the film. It's actually terrific fun watching the kids run around and create their terrible zombie movie, deal with older siblings, younger siblings and parental relationships that make no sense to you when you're a kid. It's also touching to witness that first crush, and the rivalries that can afflict a group of boys when girls start becoming interesting. These moments should be the cornerstones of the story, the heartbeats that bring it alive and make it dramatic, but instead Super 8 chooses the bombast and spectacle of its monster story for its movie moments. And that's a shame.
Super 8 works better when its smaller, quieter story is in command, and it also allows its collection of excellent child actors the chance to stretch themselves a bit. Joel Courtney, as lead character Joe, holds the film together, selling emotion as well as the outlandish actions sequences equally well, though he does only get one real emotional scene. Elle Fanning as Alice is excellent in every scene and should follow younger sister Dakota along that tricky path form child star to adult actor. Of the other children in the group, only Riley Griffiths as Charles, the director is developed which is a shame. I would have liked to know more about the dynamic within the group. It should also be said that both Ron Eldard (an actor possessed of the saddest face I've ever seen) and Kyle Chandler as Alice and Joe's respective fathers, tied together through tragedy and hating every minute, are both superb.
Super 8 thinks it's E.T, with the monster movie front and centre and essential to the piece, but in fact it is the quieter, friends film that is better and should have been given more screen time. The massive train crash (spectacular, but way, way over the top - how fast was that train going?) and the hugely destructive finale all sit uncomfortably with many of the quieter scenes. Large chunks of the monster story don't seem to make sense, though there are some great ideas here, and what's not to love about having the man trying to set the alien free being played by the same actor who accidentally released the first Gremlin? Basically there was a really tremendously great movie hiding inside Super 8, but for various reasons it's missing. Which is a real shame. However comparing it to the standard of the current crop of blockbuster films this year, it's very nearly a masterpiece.