E.T. with tentacles and a bad temper

Rating: 5/10 (20 June 2014)

Teenagers in 1979 Ohio, filming a Super 8-mm movie for entry in a competition, witness a derailment at the train station; assuming the kids have the incident on film, a hard-nosed colonel with the U.S. Air Force is soon on their trail, but he knows more than they do. Boys' adventure story-cum-monster movie from writer-director J.J. Abrams, who is slavishly faithful to producer Steven Spielberg's homey touch throughout. The scenario never jells and, although the production is elaborate, the narrative is scattered to the winds. The kids, leftover Goonies, have obviously been cast for their physical differences (one short, one tall, one with braces, etc.), but their personalities are one-dimensional on film; they're generic (much like the picture itself) and fail to generate interest—but I wouldn't blame the young actors, it's just not there in the writing. ** from ****