A Collision Between "The Goonies" and "The War of the Worlds", with "E.T." as an afterthought

Rating: 8/10 (14 June 2011)

Under producer Spielberg's assumed tutelage and inspiration, director J.J. Abrams has constructed a more-than-serviceable homage to the master in "Super 8". Okay, here's the umpteenth reiteration of the plot - a group of charismatic junior high adolescents shooting a zombie film for a contest stumble upon a train wreck, a government space conspiracy and deception, and a monstrous alien that escapes the wreck. Therefore, as I said in the title, you have an amalgamation of "The Goonies", "War of the Worlds", and "E.T.", but not in equal proportions.
Abrams handles the "Goonies" component skillfully and appealingly. The preteens are spirited, energetic, clever, occasionally profane, but always endearing and sympathetic. I especially appreciated their accurate, amusing speeches, especially the exchanges between the sweet, Elliott-like Joe home movie special effects artist) and his bossy, portly friend Charles (the home movie director). The budding relationship between Joe and the older, more mature, but demure Alice was also convincing and engrossing, especially since both have the loss of a mother in common. All the kids' reactions to and investigations of the train wreck/alien mystery were finely tuned and interesting. Abrams does not neglect kid/adult interactions either. Joe and Alice each have to deal with distant, emotionally reserved fathers and somehow manage to connect with them.
The "War of the Worlds" component was handled nearly as well, although some logic lapses do occur. The train derailment is suitably spectacular, but as another poster pointed out, it's highly unlikely that a pick-up truck, even ramming into the train head-on at full-speed, could cause such damage. It's like trying to trip a giant with a toothpick. The train would have stayed on course, but the pick-up and its passenger would have been throughly mangled. Therefore, the pick-up's driver, Mr. Woodburn, would not have survived to give the kids the dire but cryptic warning about the train and its contents. Nonetheless, the infiltration, evacuation, and surreptitious behavior of the nefarious, devious U.S. into the Ohio town where the train collision occurred are workmanlike, efficient, and well-handled. Many of the military adults, and some of the townspeople, may be corrupt and selfish, but they are not boobs. And Joe's dad, the deputy sheriff, is neither corrupt nor foolish, as he tries to penetrate the military's cone of silence regarding the crash.
Unfortunately, the "E.T." aspect of the film, despite being its focal point, is the least developed. Abrams keeps the elusive alien beast largely concealed for most of the movie as it smashes its way out of the box car, randomly attacks the townspeople, and burrows underneath a cemetery for refuge. This suspense-building works. However, it leaves the audience (and the kids in the movie) little time to bond with or even communicate with the alien. (MAJOR SPOILER WARNING ABOUT THE BEAST'S ORIGIN AND APPEARANCE). The alien and his crashed spaceship (now broken down into magnetic cubed components) was being transported from a Roswell-type military base. The roughly 12-foot high (I guess) alien looks like a hybrid of Alien, the "Cloverfield" monster, the Transformer Optimus Prime (especially about the face), and the Ymir from "20 Million Miles to Earth". And, oh yes, a spider. It's described as frightened and distrustful because of the mistreatment it received from the U.S. Army, and actually benevolent. But throughout the movie, he acts malevolently, smashing cars and buses, apparently killing at least two people, and hanging people (including the kidnapped Alice) upside down in his subterranean cave apparently for food! Joe's short, calm confrontation with the alien in his cave seems to change its mood. At the movie's end, he assembles a new spaceship out of magnetized metal (including the locket containing a picture of Joe's mother and him as a baby), and takes off. See, very inconsistent and abrupt. Was the alien inherently sinister, or benign? Why didn't the alien construct a new spaceship immediately, as soon as he escaped? Why bother terrorizing the townspeople? "E.T." gets shortchanged here.
Nevertheless, I do recommend the film as a funny, suspenseful, kinetic good time. If you are a Spielberg fan, you'll probably enjoy it even more, and be more inclined to overlook its flaws.