An Instant Summer Classic

Rating: 10/10 (11 June 2011)

When I first saw the preview and read the teaming of Spielberg and Abrams, I crossed my fingers and hoped it would be much better than the sensational preview. That preview gave us a taste of what was coming, without telling us the entire story or trying to show us the latest dazzling special effects or the new tied-in merchandise. The movie is just what we expected: an exciting, warm, and most satisfying summer adventure/thriller.
Most of the film is quite entertaining and amazing for the most part, from the great job done by all the child actors, particularly fanning, who has a difficult role and acts mature beyond her years but manages to retain a hint of innocence. She is part of a group of pre-teens who are engaged in making a super 8 movie, full of cheap and shocking special effects in order to fulfill their dreams and avoid the less than perfect real world situations they have to deal with everyday.
The plot is simple, and it has the children, literally becoming part of a scenario involving a rather suspicious train wreck. As the story moves forward, strange events occur around the small town, and soon the children must confront the ever threatening military forces. At this point, it is where the film becomes more interesting because instead of just concentrating on the noise, visuals, and the overwhelming special effects of other summer releases, this one looks inside the relationships between the main characters, and we get to understand their history and might be able to predict the final outcome.
Soon, we have friends dealing with love problems, father/son misunderstandings, and some difficult alliances are formed where the audience doesn't have to feel like an uninvited guest to the party where only the actors seem to be enjoying a exchange of "clever" lines that are only thrilling to them, or the producers and directors hope the lull in the action can be "improved" by a desperate insert of loud and confusing noisy and poorly choreographed or edited special effects.
The train wreck is as thrilling, if not even more sensational than the one in "The Fugitive", and when things explode, we are treated to some old fashioned cinematic tricks. This time we want to dodge the flying debris, while we hope the actors don't get hurt or mauled. The danger looks and feels genuine, not just a pastiche of very expensive CGI.
So, with the combination of good acting, expert directing, and a solid piece good, old fashioned solid screen writing, we have a film that recalls the best of the 70's and 80's classics, a tribute and a refreshing new entry on its own. Both Spielberg and Abrams have added their own personal touches: a sense of never ending wonder, with masterful handling of a mystery that relies more on us participating on its slow revelation than on just a half-cooked attempt at giving us a poorly developed idea.
Five stars all the way!!!