A solid, though flawed, homage

Rating: 7/10 (1 November 2012)

Set in the 1980s, a group of friends are witness to a horrific train crash while filming a movie on their Super 8 camera. That sets into motion a chain of events involving the military, strange disappearances, and something very supernatural. It is left up to the kids to save the day.
That, in short, is what 'Super 8' is about. It sounds like your typical PG science fiction movie aimed at teenagers and parents looking for a decent movie to watch. Thankfully, this JJ Abrams-directed movie is so much more than that. Foremost than anything else, 'Super 8' is an homage to the Spielberg classics of the eighties, and Abrams has deliberately copy-and-pasted that formula here.
Of that formula, what Abrams has emulated the best is directing young actors. What made Spielberg films like 'ET' and 'The Goonies' so enjoyable was the chemistry between the young cast; it's the same here. The kids are the best thing about the movie – you're immediately drawn to them and root for them throughout. Joel Courtney (Joe), Elle Fanning (Alice) and Riley Griffiths (Charles) are the standouts, the performances seem to come so easily and naturally to them. Look in particular at Fanning's first 'acting' scene. It's brilliant.
Unfortunately, the rest of the film is a bit of a letdown. Not because its rubbish, necessarily, but because nothing else in the film matches up to the joy of watching those kids act. The scenes with Kyle Chandler (as Joe's dad), the military, and other scenes with adults, they're quite dull and uninteresting. Similarly, the supernatural aspect of the film feels really rushed and unconvincing. I moved through the film just waiting for the kids to come back on screen. The actual story seems to get in the way, and that shouldn't be the case. There are some spectacular special effects though, especially the train crash at the beginning of the movie.
To expect anybody – even someone as good as JJ Abrams – to come up with a movie that matches those eighties' Spielberg classics would be unfair. And, in all fairness, Abrams makes a good crack of it. While it could be better, I think 'Super 8' should be appreciated as a love letter. A love letter to the joy of filmmaking; a love letter to nostalgia; and mainly, a love letter to Steven Spielberg and what he brought to cinema.