Solid Sci-Fi Thriller

Rating: 7/10 (26 May 2014)

Super 8 is one of those Spielberg films that he didn't direct, but yet you can easily see his imprint on it. J.J Abrams did a great job directing this mystery thriller with an unbelievably young cast. I was quite surprised at the talent of the core 5 actors who are filming a Super 8 movie and end up coming across an Alien like attack. Joel Courtney and Elle Fanning give believable performances but at times the romance did feel a little too cliché. Overall it's a thrilling experience that makes you remember some of the great Sci-Fi flicks of the past.
With Abrams and Spielberg at the helm I would have thought there would be more star power at the core of this film. But I guess if you think about Close Encounters of the Third Kind, that had virtually all unknown actors at the time. I would have liked to see a little bit more of the actual monster/alien in the 2 hour running time. I did feel like the ending resolution to the Alien was a tad out of place. But I did like the story of Joe losing his mom and basically trying to get over her throughout the film. But at the same time I think in order for us all to feel the emotional impact they wanted us to feel.
It was refreshing to see a blockbuster movie led by basically an all under 15 year old cast. You just don't get to see that in Hollywood these days. Even with some of its gory moments, I think this is a movie that can be enjoyed by an entire family. Now can Abrams get Spielberg to help him direct one of the new Star Wars films? PLEASE!!!!??
+Pleasantly surprised with the well rounded young cast
+Cool Visuals
+Callbacks to classic Sci-Fi
-Not much emotional impact
-Not enough Alien/monster time
7.8/10