Abrams Does Spielberg

Rating: 7/10 (24 August 2013)

During the summer of 1979, a group of friends witness a train crash and investigate subsequent unexplained events in their small town.
I do love the inclusion of the Walkman, the Soviets and other period things, especially the music. While I did not live in 1979, I appreciate period pieces of the 70s and 80s (Ti West's Satanic Panic film nailed this.) I also like that at times, the film has the sensibility of "Goonies". I wish the whole film did, because these were the stronger scenes. The monster part was less interesting, actually ,than the childhood adventures.
Roger Ebert summed it nicely when he wrote, "Super 8 is a wonderful film, nostalgia not for a time but for a style of film-making, when shell-shocked young audiences were told a story and not pounded over the head with aggressive action. Abrams treats early adolescence with tenderness and affection."