A good film, let down by a weak final act

Rating: 7/10 (28 August 2011)

It would be wrong to call Super 8 a bad film; it is certainly not. However it is a film of inconsistently quality, perhaps the perfect example of a film of 'two halves'. While the first half (or more precisely, the first and second acts) is a fun, nostalgic character centred sci-fi drama with a slight hint of horror, the final act falls flat, removing most aspects that made the film's beginning so appealing.
The heart of Super 8, and the main focus of the first two acts, is the story of a group of young friends. Surprisingly, the child actors are convincing and make their characters enjoyable to watch; a rarity in films centred around children. Their friends are striving to created a low budget zombie film, and their attempts are entertaining to watch, and genuinely funny (again, usually hard to achieve with child actors). In fact, for the first two acts, the sci-fi element is very much played down; it is a character centred drama that just happens to contain an alien, and surprisingly it works excellently.
The success of the film's first two acts lies in its wonderful blending of genuinely funny comedy, interesting character development, occasional action sequences, and sparing moments of sci-fi. Indeed, if a viewer watched this film purely on the assumption that it was a straight up sci-fi film, they would most likely be disappointed by the films opening. What J.J. Abrams manages to do, is recapture some of Steven Spielberg magic, and it is a joy to watch; films are rarely made like this anymore.
It is also worth mentioning the fairly decent special effects. The train crash, a key part of the films marketing, is a dazzling spectacle, if a little far fetched. The alien itself is convincing, if a little bit underwhelming in its design.
Unfortunately, after an extremely promising initial half, the film slowly but surely goes down hill. Nearly everything that is excellent about the first half is completely removed from the final act; the kids split up, the alien is no longer used in a suspenseful way, and the plot becomes a lot less tight (seemingly just to include many actions scenes). It is most clearly seen in this final act, that J.J. Abrams cannot perfectly recreated a Spielberg film; Abrams simply goes to heavy on the action (relative to the beginning of the film), and the movie suffers greatly for it. The final act's shift away from the group of friends is a fatal mistake. The decision removes the film's heart and soul, and as a result the final act is dull compared to the first two.
Thus, as previously mentioned, the movie perfectly defines a film of two-halves; the first half being an interesting nostalgia trip, the second half being an average run-of the-mill sci-fi action flick. Consequently, the film ends up being an inconsistent, slightly above average film, where one truly feels as if they have watched two very different films instead of one cohesive production.
Finally, the ending seems weak. Certainly, it seems J.J. Abrams has not mastered the emotional ending as well as Spliberg, and thus the film ends on a slightly cheesy note, very much on par with Spielberg's uncharacteristically weak ending to his 'War of the Worlds' remake. A disappointing ending leaves the film on a low note, and thus damages the overall product.
But, overall, this film is an enjoyable piece of entertainment, if not a potential 'Best Picture' nominee. The film is a summer blockbuster with a real heart and an enjoyable set of characters; a rare occurrence. It is a slight let down, but nevertheless exactly what many more films should strive to be; fun.
7/10