Abrams evokes some of that old Spielberg magic

Rating: 8/10 (11 July 2011)

On the poster for "Super 8" you'll see producer Steven Spielberg's name featured just as prominently as director J.J. Abrams'. That's the first indication that this movie seeks to recapture some of the magic behind past Spielberg offerings like "E.T." & "Close Encounters of the Third Kind". While the movie falls a bit short of those classics it does indeed provide a pretty rewarding cinematic experience.
The story is set in a small Ohio town in the summer of 1979, where a group of friends making a super 8 movie become witnesses to a catastrophic train wreck. They suspect that the crash was not an accident and soon the actions of Air Force personnel seem to confirm those suspicions. As strange events begin to occur the local deputy attempts to get to the bottom of the mystery and so do those who witnessed the initial crash.
The movie includes little in the way of recognizable names & faces but that's no distraction. Newcomer Joel Courtney does just fine in his first film and young Elle Fanning gives an effective performance as well. Meanwhile, Kyle Chandler is stalwart as the father/deputy and I could even tolerate Ron Eldard, who's high on my list of least favourite actors.
Abrams does double duty as director and writer and he does pretty well on both counts. His script definitely isn't perfect, though. The last act has been rightly criticized and some have also taken issue with his fairly obvious nods to Spielberg (but not me). Imperfections aside, I think that Abrams captures the spirit of vintage Spielberg better than anyone else (including Spielberg) has done for years. The period feel is also well done, benefiting from detailed production design and a nifty, period-specific soundtrack.
All that being said, I don't blame some people for being disappointed, given that the ending isn't up to the same standard as the rest of the movie. However, the film's strengths make it worthwhile as a blockbuster that harks back to movies with more substance than today's offerings concerning battling robots and the like.