Good times

Rating: 9/10 (20 January 2012)

Growing up, I was in the generation of a lot of great kid's films like The Goonies, The Sandlot, Monster Squad and Stand by Me. But sadly my generation seemed to be the last one where we had great kid films that not only insulted it's demographic, but also had the great adventure that we needed. Watching those movies were just a great time and they've remained classics ever since I think because we haven't had a movie for a couple of decades. Steven Spielberg was the man who brought a lot of these classics alive, who better to collaborate with J.J. Abrams who knows great action and obviously has a love of the movies I just mentioned. They bring us Super 8, the trailers remained so mysterious and made you want to see the movie, because all it was, was a car crashing into a train and you had to guess what just jumped out of it. Sadly I had to wait until the rental, however what a great movie that I feel people are being just a little bit rough on.
Joe, a 13-year-old boy living in a small town in Ohio, has lost his mother in a factory accident. His friend Charles Kaznyk convinces schoolmate Alice to be the protagonist's wife in his low-budget zombie movie on Super 8 film. Alice steals her father's car and takes Joe, Charles, Preston, Martin, and Cary to an old train depot where the group plans to film a scene. During the shoot, Charles sees a train coming towards the depot and sets up the cameras, hoping that the passing train will add authenticity to the scene. As they are filming Joe watches a pick-up truck drive onto the tracks and place itself in the path of an oncoming train, causing a massive explosion. Something breaks open one of the train car's doors and escapes. They discover that their teacher caused the "accident" and that there is something invading their town. Together they try to find out what it is and help each other when the times get more rough.
The weird thing is I really did enjoy this movie, not just because of the nostalgic feeling but I honestly felt this was a good movie. I loved the chemistry between the kids, they all clicked so well and their friendships seemed very real. I loved the special effects, they didn't seem over the top with the CGI. The only complaint I would have with the film is the ending, where the kid is talking to the alien and saying how he could relate to him that bad things happen, which I though was very cheesy, but that's the Spielberg effect. I don't know why there are any negative reviews on the film, I know that you can't win them all but I loved that this traveled back in time for the adults and a great new way to introduce an excellent genre to the younger generation. Who knows if we will have any more classics down the line, but this was a fun trip down nostalgic lane. Super 8 has laughs, action, suspense and reminds you why you loved being a kid before technology hit so hard.
9/10