A Touching, Exciting Summer Blockbuster

Rating: 8/10 (9 June 2011)

If there is any wonder about what Abrams is capable of in terms of being a filmmaker, Super 8 should sufficiently debunk this. While he is certainly a great producer, this is Abrams first original picture. But never fear, he succeeds again with a fine picture that will warm your heart and excite you.
In case you are wondering what this whole thing is about, I will try to keep the plot as a minimum so as to save much of the surprise. Joe Lamb is helping his best buddy make a zombie film in the 1970's when they witness a horrendous train wreck. What follows are several days of unexplained activity that alters all their lives in exciting and frightening ways.
Super 8 has been said to be reminiscent of all those old Amblin Spielberg films of the 80's, and it's not far off. There is a good mix of several films in here, including Stand By Me, ET, Close Encounters, and other classic films. Some will blow this off as nothing special, merely a nostalgic trip trying to replicate Spielberg. But in Abrams hands, this is a well crafted and very well directed film. The child actors here are some of the best most emotionally provocative that I have seen in a long, long time. Elle Fanning, in particular, is fantastic. All the children are, and it's something that has rarely been seen since Spielberg, who is arguably the best child director in the industry.
But beyond the actors, the cinematography is also of note. Firstly, the train wreck is handled extremely well. It's both frightening and exciting and truly underscores the damage and effect that it will have on the town. And when the creature from within the train begins to wreak havoc, it's extremely effective. Though this is not a horror movie, horror film principles are applied in getting the most out of the tension of these scenes. Some reviews have called the sci-fi elements weak, but I would argue against that. There are issues, which I will get into later, but the scenes dealing with this creature before it's big reveal are nice and scary. These scenes are countered with even better drama. As stated, these child actors are fantastic, and that really makes the scenes in which the budding love story or family drama shines through.
Of course, the film has it's issues, the reason it's an 8 and not higher. First of all, I took issue with some of the separation between the monster plot line and the plots involving the kids and their drama. It's almost like two films are being played out here, and while that may have been how the film initially started (as ideas for two different films coming together), it's kind of disheartening to see that they never truly figured out how to make the two interweave naturally. My second issue involves some story elements that seem like they could have been developed more, namely the father-son relationship between Joe and his father. His dad spends much of the time trying to figure out what's going on. We know there are issues there between Joe and his father, and one scene between the two showing this doesn't really encompass the true nature and effect of these problems. It would have also been nice to see more interaction between the two, but I won't spoil anything about why I think this.
These are minor issues though for a film that is well crafted and truly enjoyable. Yes, the film is quite nostalgic. However, there are a great deal of touches Abrams puts in himself that make this his own film. For those who grew up on all those old Amblin films, this will warm your heart, and for those who didn't grow up on those, you'll have a chance to know what it felt like to see a film like ET for the first time. Simply put, call this film this generations ET or Stand By Me.