Shows Why We Love Movies

Rating: 10/10 (3 September 2011)

This film will remind you why we love movies--it is entertaining from start to finish. It's suspenseful, scary, funny, and even heart-warming. The child actors are unbelievably good, particularly the star-crossed youngsters at the center of the group of friends making the Super 8 movie. Be sure to stay for the final credits so that you can see their movie at the end of the film. The sense of place and time achieved by the filmmakers is awesome--supposed to be Ohio; looked like southwestern Pennsylvania's old industrial areas to me; credits identified the locations as West Virginia--so yeah, right ballpark in the Old Rustbelt of the country. I also liked the fact that there were no "big stars" at the helm of this movie, though I know Kyle Chandler is a TV favorite--the casting added to the impact as the film was an ensemble effort, not, for example, a Tom Cruise vehicle. Also interesting was the use of African American actors in key supporting roles as both heroes (the science teacher) and villains (the military men). I was also pleased with the way information about the characters and their interrelationships wasn't spelled out for the viewer, but unfolded gradually over the course of the film. I'm not a fan of special effects and all the previews shown with this "action film" are not things I would see, but in this film, as in "Rise of the Planet of the Apes," I'm a believer. In both cases, there is a genuine story at the heart, not just things blowing up. But when they do explode or catch fire or whatever, they're great!
See "Super 8" on the big screen as it is meant to be seen.