This movie largely fails....and is unoriginal to boot

Rating: 5/10 (21 June 2011)

Honestly, this film was a mess.
It tries very hard to be mysterious and suspenseful, but fails. I would summarize it as a "slice of life" portrayal of the kids in the movie. They go through their lives, acting and thinking like the adolescents that they are. In the background we know something (something largely predictable) is going on related to the train wreck and the presence of the military. The problem is that during the long, agonizing middle of the film, this "situation" has virtually nothing to do with the kids and is largely ignored. The movie drags horribly during the middle (2/3 of the film) because quite simply nothing is happening.
The character development is pretty good, and for that reason I at least gave the movie a mediocre rating. But, in terms of the story, it falls flat on its face.
Having said all that, it was the complete lack of originality that really bothered me here. It seems Spielberg has dipped too many times into the same well. If I described this movie as a compilation of ET, Goonies, and Close Encounters, you would have a very good idea what to expect. Yet, where all those other movies succeeded (at least on some level), Super 8 fails. It was boring, predictable, and felt cobbled together.
I recommend you skip this one, or perhaps watch it in TV.