Great original movie with classic elements

Rating: Null/10 (23 June 2011)

Watching Super 8 was like watching a classic Spielberg film with better CGI. It felt like The Goonies mixed and Close Encounters. The time setting really added to the story. It was set in 1979. A group of young kids trying to make a movie for a local film festival witness a train wreck and discover a mystery that is taking over the whole town. We also get some back stories for the kids, their parents and the alien (yes, there's an alien), but that's the basic premise of it.
A few young actors are going to get very famous from this movie. Elle Fanning (Alice) gives her best performance yet. The characters were really fun to see. The variety reminded me of that of The Goonies. None of the characters seemed cliché either. Each one took on their own, unique person and did a great job.
The movie had a great compelling story for about the first 45 minutes. The train wreck scene was among the best I've seen. After that, the movie seemed to drag a little. There was a lot that could have been left out. The only thing that I really had to look forward to was seeing the alien at the end.
The fact that you don't see the alien until the end was a smart move on Abrams' part. When you do see it, it becomes a really emotional character that has the same needs as a human. You actually get an emotional connection to this creature and that is something that this move needed. The downside to this is that it makes the movie less scary. I went into it expecting a good scare and for the most part, it just gave loud startlers.
Super 8 had a few funny and emotional moments. J.J. Abrams said from the start that this wasn't supposed to be a huge Summer blockbuster, just a fun, original movie. That's exactly what he gave us. It was a lot of fun to watch, even in its slow parts. Besides from a few moments of bad 3D cinematography, it wasn't difficult to watch. I would say Super 8 is worth the money and a great original movie.