Quiet on The Set - Super 8

4 out of 5 Popcorn Kernels

SEE TRAILER HERE

Yes it's true. Super 8 is so filled with the nuance of old film making, while giving you a jolt of the new, that it felt like being on a kiddie ride that suddenly dips onto the rollercoster ride of a lifetime.

The film stars a pretty good cast, with Joe Lamb (Joel Courtney),  and his father Jackson (Kyle Chandler) still dealing with the loss of their mother/wife. The film is about Joe and his friends, who are using old Super 8 film to create a low-budget zombie picture. Super 8 is filmed at a teenage angle, and much of it is waist-high to the adults...this is good, and keeps the kids in focus. One of the kids, Alice (Elle Fanning) - the oldest, maybe 15yrs and only girl of this crew - takes her father's car so that the gang can film near a train station. During a delightful scene, where Alice wows the boys with her acting prowess, a runaway pick-up truck is seen heading towards the track, where a train is coming in the other direction.

Rollin' Rollin' Rollin...

A crash happens, and the kids are caught in the middle of it, dropping their camera, while it is still filming. Later, Joe and his friend Charles (Riley Griffiths), review the film, and discover that more than just cargo was on that train, and witness what looks like an passenger was on that train...alien in nature. In the midst, the Air Force discovers the loss of this precious cargo, because it is running amok in the town, and happens to also take Alice. And so when Joe discovers this, he sets off to find her, and so their adventure begins...


Super 8 has great pacing, and although it does bring back the style of Stephen Spielberg, it doesn't feel as timeless as his projects. The alienation of the alien seems to be the problem with this, because in a Spielberg film, everyone has a part...even in Close Encounters, we assessed the aliens by what the selected township thought of them, and in the way their calm allowed us to believe that the aliens were friendly. This film has an alien that isn't really evil, but it does do some things quite frightening to survive. We sympathize with its fear.


The town - and of course I have to wonder - where is the diversity? Back in the day, the alien would have been thought of as the minority in the film, but I don't feel like going there. This is how Hollywood is, and many black film makers go with their point of view too. I am just miffed at how few diversity filled films there are for the younger child viewer. But with a production like this, it is about the fun of the film, and quite frankly, I suppose that it can be remade under any ethnic group, since it isn't very specific about that...okay, now that I have got that little bit off my chest...


As for the storyline and the actors, I did like them, you relate with the kids quickly, and you understand their urgency at finding their friend, and the danger that the town is in. I believe that this is the influence of J.J. Abrams as being the director. He can set a mood, and knows how to work with developing a storyline for the actors very quickly. I believe that this is more of a family movie, because it doesn't offend, it doesn't gore you out, there are some scary moments, and the ending wraps up nicely (although too cleanly for my taste. I would have liked to see how the town recovered from something like this), so yes, you may want to buy this one for when you feel like you just need a break from the day and your mind, and you're feeling a little spaced out by the whole world.