Review Of "Super 8"

Rating: 10/10 (23 December 2011)

"Super 8" is a 2011 film directed by J.J. Abrams and starring Joel Courtney and Elle Fanning. The film follows the story of a group of kids who witness a train crash in the summer of 1979 and investigate the paranormal events of the that it has on this town. Well to be blatantly and frankly honest - I observed almost no problems in this movie whatsoever. The problems that I did observe are so trivial and insignificant that I'm not even going to waste my energy going over them. When I saw previews for this film, I saw that the prominent characters in it were mostly middle schoolers. Now, movies like this can go either one of two ways for me. One - the kids in this movie are so obnoxious as crap I don't even want to watch anymore. Two - the kids in this movie are portrayed in an enjoyable and original manner, that I can find myself relating to wholeheartedly. As you may have guessed the kids in "Super 8" are portrayed in the latter form. I found every child in this movie to be either hilarious or almost hauntingly familiar. In doing this, Abrams excels at portraying all of the interesting feelings and thoughts that go along with being a kid. The set pieces in this film are unbelievably breathtaking. I mean, the train crash in this movie is so astonishing, words can't even do it justice. I mean instead of saying "train crash" I could say "TRAIN CRASH :D" and that doesn't even depict the amount of intensity involved with this scene. . .yeah. The soundtrack by Michael Giacchino is incredibly diverse in emotions - it's scary, breathtaking, and thrilling all at once. The film in and of itself is a roller-coaster of emotions too. There were parts in this film where I couldn't stop laughing. Then there were parts where tension drew out like a blade. There were scenes that pulled at my heartstrings. I honestly can't say that for many of the films that have come out this year. All in all, I felt that "Super 8" was an almost relentlessly entertaining thrill ride. I can now see why Steven Spielberg wanted to be attached to this superbly thought out project.