Goonies Meets ET, how could you go wrong? Leave it to JJ Abrams...

Rating: 4/10 (24 June 2011)

While I think JJ Abramas' homage to Spielberg's films resulted in enough interest for me to go buy a ticket, I definitely can't say it's all that comparable in terms of storytelling, movie production, cinematography, and directing.
For whatever reason, kids from the 70's and 80's seem to be much better actors than today. The kids in Super 8 don't really capture the candid, unscripted qualities in Spielberg's previous films. Everything the children do in Super 8 looks forced, scripted, and just very unnatural - especially in dialogue.
One scene that stands out in particular is the train wreck, which is also figuratively a train wreck. Firstly, they all nearly die as a train, which was transporting explosives, derails right next to them because someone drives a pick up truck into it. No, the train doesn't just push it out of the way like it would do in normal, every day life - it dramatically derails. Miraculously all five kids and the car they stole are unharmed (though, I distinctly remember a scene of the car seemingly being destroyed). This in itself is quickly overshadowed as everyone regroups and laughs about fake blood splattered on some of the wreckage. Despite living through the train wreck, they also live through the human killing monster that escapes in the epicenter of it all. If this wasn't enough survival for you read this: the man who drove the pick up into the train (which, let me remind you, was transporting explosives) that caused it to derail also SURVIVES! Nobody dies in this scene - nobody! Turns out, it's a history teacher from their school. Apparently he's all caught up in some military conspiracy and drove his truck into the train to try and free the alien. So after a stern talking-to from the suicidal teacher, military men appear out of thin air and approach the scene with flashlights. As if they didn't defy all the odds enough - they scramble to the car (which should've been DESTROYED) and escape from the United States Airforce. I must say, for transporting something so dangerous, A MURDEROUS ALIEN, the Airforce seems to be packing rather light and be rather un-organized.
Anyway... this is an actual scene from the movie. All of it is accurately worded here. But despite seeing a military train derail from a suicidal teacher allowing a space alien to escape and themselves having survived the whole situation - barely anything from the experience is discussed on the car ride home from the accident. Even more creepy, the accident is barely discussed in any detail between any of the kids throughout the entire movie. I guess teenage romance is more important, although they are of that age where Mommy and Daddy give "the talk" - well except Joe (hero and awkward dork) doesn't have a mommy and his daddy is too busy trying to make this movie into an Indiana Jones ripoff.
This movie is just rittled with massive plot holes, terrible character development, and is just overall really inconsistent. While Spielberg films had their fair share of ridiculousness - Super 8 does a hell of a job homaging that aspect and I do find great humor in it. Even the title itself is misleading because the film that captured the alien is shown one time and is never seen or mentioned again. The military isn't after the film, rebellious ogranizations aren't after it, the film itself is not a key point in the movie at all. It bares no significance to the story or to anything... it's more like it was the catalyst to start this project and maybe the movie was originally based on it but then that was sidelined for a lazier, boring movie.