Brilliant family movie

Rating: 10/10 (16 February 2014)

I absolutely loved Super 8. The movie strongly (and purposely) evokes reminiscences of classic teenage adventures like The Goonies, ET and Explorers. I've read a lot of criticism about Super 8, and i think it comes basically from two problems people have with it. First, they expected something different. Probably something more akin to Cloverfield, which this movie isn't. It's a teenage adventure story, suitable for all family, much like the aforementioned classic teen flicks, so don't expect anything different or otherwise you will be disappointed. Second, this is a movie directed in the style of the 80s teenage adventures, so it obviously requires a lot of suspension of disbelief. It's easy to point at the fact that some parts of the plot aren't realistic, like a train derailing because of of a pickup, but that's the style of the kind of movies Super 8 is homaging and is inspired to. Those movies come from an era of ingenuity the audience seem to have lost by growing up. It's not a fault of the movie if you weren't able to grow up keeping that ingenuity and became, well, cynical and disillusioned. So, i recommend STRONGLY this movie to everyone who like adventure movies full of ingenuity and magic, aimed at a younger audience. Conversely, stay away from it if you are looking for something realistic, dark and original, because those are 3 things this movie doesn't even want to be. And it's not a fault, despite many people don't get it. The director and producer very clearly wanted it to be like it is. A movie from another time when cinema had less angst and not everything needed to be gritty and overly complex.