Spielberg meets Michael Bay

Rating: 6/10 (14 June 2011)

Super 8 had a lot of potential. The story of the kids and first love was well constructed, however it was overshadowed by the schmaltzy story plot point and steroid-induced explosions. J.J. Abrams is a decent filmmaker, but has a long way before he reaches the precipice of greatness like Zemeckis, and early Spielberg. Abrams is afraid of the quiet beautiful moments and is on top of you with another huge explosion. It was a period piece, right. There was no need to blow everything up so he can compete with the comic book extravaganzas and Transformers of the summer. He should have been confident to tell the story and not focus on gimmicks.
Also, the alien is a total contradiction. The alien is scared and wants to go home, but eats and kills certain people and leaves others alone. I guess the alien was bi-polar too.