An EXCELLENT throwback, a touching drama, and the best summer blockbuster in YEARS.

Rating: 10/10 (8 July 2011)

Let me start by saying that I ADORED Super 8. I assume you know the basic plot. When I saw Iron Man 2 last year, the teaser played,and that's just what it did - it teased. And it did it brilliantly. I don't think there was anyone who wasn't intrigued. The next few trailers, I must say, diminished my interest. I learned it was starring kids, which made me think it was going to be excessively juvenile. Looking at reviews before the movie, my hopes lowered once again because the reviews weren't uniformly positive as I wanted them to be. I saw this movie nonetheless on the Saturday after it came out.
Wow. What a surprise.
First, let me say that the best part of this movie wasn't the action. It wasn't the comedy (well, partly). It was actually the kids! Overall, the movie is phenomenally acted, and the kids are the best actors. In 95% of movies I've seen, the kids are the worst actors and often bring movies down (The Phantom Menace). However, the kids were great All of them have their moments, and you will discover that you can relate to at least one of them. There are 6 kids. The main kid, Joe, played by newcomer Joel Cortney, moves the story along nicely and he is very believable. The boy who plays Charles (the fat kid), Riley Griffiths (I think), is the funniest character and is great as well. However, the best actor in the whole movie is Elle Fanning (Dakota's sister). EASILY. She was so good! What a talented family! She is a beautiful young girl and she plays Alice, Joe's crush. She's kind of naughty and has a troubled family life. She and Joel have EXCELLENT chemistry. Look up the zombie scene. I, being young and male, actually have a bit of a crush on Elle because of this movie! Also, the kids work so well together, and, best of all, act like actual kids. My friends and I do this. ALL the time! The diner scene in particular stands out for me. They nail the comedic timing really well, also. This movie is partly meant to be an homage to Spielberg movies of the 70's and 80's, and it succeeds so well, and the main reason is the kids.
Next, the plot. There are essentially 4 plots in this movie - the alien, Joe's relationship with his father, who is a policeman and trying to solve the alien mystery, Joe's and Alice's father's "disagreement," and Joe's relationship with Alice. The kid's experience making the movie involves all 4 of these. Since I'm about a year older than most of these kids, and don't have a troubled relationship with my dad, the one I related to the most was Joe and Alice. They do have some touching moments together (again, the zombie scene). The other ones I was invested in greatly, and they did interest me.
Finally, the action. This being my first J.J. Abrams movie, I didn't really know what his style was. However, he did not disappoint. The train scene is extremely intense, really cool, and also really loud. Coolest scene (not necessarily the best). There are quite a few jump scares, but they are fun instead of annoying. Since this is a throwback to the Spielbergian movies of the 70's and 80's, there are some homages to many famous movies which I noticed on my second viewing. The special effects are great. This movie stands out to me because it is an original story that isn't super special effects-heavy. Most movies that currently are qualified as summer blockbusters are extremely special effects-heavy and, well, that's it. This being said, though the special effects and action scenes aren't what make this movie, this movie, especially in the last 30-45 minutes, is so THRILLING. My goodness. The train scene in particular - good job, Abrams. I was still excited an hour after leaving the theater.
After all that being said, is the movie perfect? (sigh) No. There is some slightly cliché humor. You know when the characters think someone is dead, and the person they think is dead is really alive and walks up behind them, and everyone's like "Oh, you're alive!" (Indy 3) I hate that, and there is one. Also, something very similar to that happens RIGHT AFTERWARD. Ugh. Thankfully, it moves on, and you forget about it. Also, there's one scene with Joe when he is told big information that could possibly change how he views a certain character, and he doesn't really do anything. What? Now, if I'm talking about flaws, I have to talk about the ending. Everyone else is. Yes, it's kind of cheesy. However, I thought it wrapped up 2 of the plot lines really nicely, and it showed Joe's emotional arc with his dead mother come full circle . It is still kind of cheesy.
However, GO SEE THIS MOVIE. It's awesome. To everyone who is calling this movie unoriginal, that's like calling Indy 1 unoriginal because it copies serials of the 30's too much. It not trying to be mindblowingly original. Yes, it has many homages, and many of the themes and ideas are Spielberg-esque, but I'm pretty sure there aren't any movies like this. This movie succeeds on so many levels. The reason that I think people are saying it doesn't live up to the hype is that they didn't know what to expect. People are saying that this movie is boring and slow. No, it's not, if you know what you're getting into. (Not hating on anyone in particular. I do respect other people's opinions) Best movie of '11 so far. Though I may change my mind in the future, I still give Super 8 an extremely high rating.
They don't make 'em like they used to. Well, they do, with Super 8.
9.6/10
Stay during the credits.