A Spielbergian Adventure from His Biggest Fan

Rating: 8/10 (10 January 2012)

I stopped caring so much about SUPER 8 some time before it ever came to theaters. It wasn't that I didn't expect great things from J.J. Abrams. I know he's good for a fun movie, but the trailers never really grabbed my attention. Sure the teaser was interesting, with the "mystery" bursting out from behind the sealed door of an Air Force train car. But it wasn't hard to guess what was coming out from behind that door; combine the mystery-less mystery with the fact that I don't have the same nostalgia for Steven Spielberg's 80's films, and SUPER 8 was destined not to have the same impact on me as it had on many others. The film is about a group of children in the late 70's putting together a zombie movie on super 8mm film for a local film festival. Joe (Joel Courtney) lost his mother to an industrial accident four months earlier, and tensions rise when he directing friend invites Alice Dainard (Ellie Fanning) to act in his film. Alice is the daughter of the man believed responsible for the death of Joe's mom and, despite this awkward tension that exists between their two fathers, emotions begin to develop between the two of them. Oh, and the town is terrorized by a mysterious creature of unknown origin. It's more of a B-story, despite what original trailers insinuated. While filming a scene for their zombie film, the friends witness a train derailment that releases the creature into their small town and eventually become involved in their own investigation.
This movie really is about the kids first, and the creature second. That's fine, I guess. I just wish the filmmakers' early marketing efforts hadn't been about the beast's escape from the Air Force cargo train. Once the full trailer was released and I saw the actual scope of the movie, my interested began to fade. I was still interested in seeing it, but I wasn't in any rush. I normally hate children actors (some leftover resentment for Jake Lloyd's performance in STAR WARS EPISODE I, I suppose), but there are occasions where a child performer/cast will come along that makes me eat my words. This is one of them. It could just be proof of J.J. Abrams skill as a director that he's able to utilize kids so well, but the stars of this movie do a pretty excellent job (some more than others). You would never guess this is Joel Courtney's first feature role, and Riley Griffiths proves to be more than comfortable in front of the camera (even if he can be annoying at timesproduction value!!). The real strength in the group is Ellie Fanning as Alice Dainard. It must be something in the Fanning blood, but apparently they make fantastic child actors. She's got emotional power in her performance that stands out amongst her lesser castmates, and it's obvious she's going to have a successful future just as her sister had.
This movie just didn't click with me. I was born in the 80's, so I wasn't really old enough to appreciate the Spielberg films that Abrams is goings nuts over here. I was too young for CLOSE ENCOUNTERS and, even as a kid, I never cared for E.T. I didn't see the Spielberg-produced GOONIES until years later (loved it though). So the homage that makes up the core of Abram's SUPER 8 just didn't resonate with me. I still enjoyed SUPER 8, quite a bit. It's just not what I'd spent months anticipating after seeing the teaser trailer. I wanted another good sci-fi movie, not a coming-of-age drama that just so happened to feature an alien plot. It's an incredibly well-done movie and I thoroughly enjoyed watching it, but I guess my lingering disappointment has given me a slight bias. It looks and feels like a mid-80s era Spielberg family/adventure film and, in that respect, Abrams nailed it. It just failed to really stay with me after leaving the theater and when I tried thinking back to the best movies I saw over the summer of 2011, despite how good this movie was, I'd completely forgotten about it. It was a fun sci-fi adventure with a great heart, and the final act of the film where the entire creature storyline kicks into gear is fun. I'm just glad Abrams got it out of his system so we can move on to STAR TREK 2 or whatever new project he's got up his sleeve.