a perfect throwback to the era of ET!

Rating: Null/10 (16 June 2011)

Super 8 is one of the best summer kid movies in ages. In fact, it is a throwback to ET, The Goonies and other movies Spielberg (and Joe Dante) made so deftly in the 1980's. Amazingly, the movie set in the gateway to the 1980's: 1979. We begin with 12-year-old Joe (Joel Lamb) and his father, Jack (Kyle Chandler) dealing with the death of their mother and wife, respectively. As school lets out four months later, Joe wants to work with his friends, Charles, (Riley Griffiths), Cary (Ryan Lee), Preston (Zach Mills) and Martin (Gabriel Basso). The odd man (or woman) out is Alice Dainard (Elle Fanning) who wants to join them for a few scenes. They all meet at midnight to shoot a scene as a train passes by. Then, the train is derailed in a spectacular crash. Strangely, it was caused by someone deliberately driving on the tracks towards the train. It turns out to be their Jr. High Science Teacher who warns them to not say anything to protect themselves and their parents. The Air Force responds unusually fast - leaving the town police force (now led by Joe's father, Jack) in the dark of their work. At that same time, people, dogs, appliances, and car parts mysteriously disappear. Something is wondering the woods. Something escaped. Something dangerous. Or is it the Air Force that's dangerous. So much works for this film - mostly in story and acting. The kids involved pull off great performances, especially from newcomer Joel Courtney who takes the lead. He plays the role so well, shifting from friend with a bunch of Jr. High kids and an adolescent suffering from a lost mother and estranged father. Alice has her own problems stemming from her dad. Amazingly, all of them are intertwined in the drama that unfolds evenly. Another strength is the special effects, which are used as a background to the story as opposed to being the feature. This is related to the creature that is not fully seen until close to the end. And the story related to the alien is not as predictable as the one with the humans. More than anything else, though, it captures the mindset of seventh graders as they wonder through adolescence. The conversations have the same quick-wit and unfocused meandering in kids of that age. Everyone knew a Cary who liked to blow things up and play with fireworks. We knew a Charles as the bossy kid who has a passionate project. I did have two strikes against the movie: the third act was a little disjointed and did not provide cohesiveness. Also, the ending was a little abrupt. And while some people complain the ending was a little over-the-top, I think they forget the flying bicycles in E.T. Still, overall, it is far better than most summer movies of late. Not to say there are some good summer movies, but this one outshines most of them because Super 8 relies more on story and character instead of overblown special effects. It has the feel of a 1980's Spielberg movie and is taken in the same spirit. J.J. Abrams is one of the better talents who seems to have grown instead of stagnating and backsliding like M. Night Shyamalan. I look forward to Abrams next project ... as long as it is not a sequel to Super 8. Evren Buyruk