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Super 8 - Film Review
Grade: B-
Thirty-six years after Steven Spielberg indirectly commenced the trend of the “summer blockbuster” with Jaws, the director/producer teams up with JJ Abrams (Star Trek) to craft Super 8. But do not let the fact that this is a JJ Abrams directed film fool you, this is as Spielberg-influenced as a film can get. From the outlandish action scenes to the unraveling plot development involving the obscure, Super 8 reminds us why Spielberg is known as the “father of the blockbuster,” as well as it displays success in Abram’s developing career as director.
The film, which takes place in the late 1970s, tells the story of fourteen-year-old Joe Lamb (Joel Courtney) who recently lost his mother by an occupational accident. Four months later, Lamb and four other friends work to finish their Super 8 zombie movie project that they expect to enter in a local film festival. Along with the teenage heartthrob Alice Dainard (Elle Fanning), the gang start filming at a train track. The first segment of the film, prior to the focal point of the blockbuster appeal , undoubtedly relies on the motif of recreating nostalgia as it resonates throughout the rest of the film. The usage of the Super 8 camera, the infatuation between two young souls: the film establishes itself as a work of sentimentality and childhood memories. On some levels it succeeds, especially as the story is told through somewhat of an innocent point of view, but the relationships between the children are not expanded enough to get that feeling of true emotion. As a result, it barely avoids the line of sappy storytelling.
Moving on to the aspect of the film in which may bring its mainstream success, the Jaws-esque blockbuster action and storytelling gives Super 8 its life. Filming the vital scene in their zombie flick, they insist on creating “production value” within the train scene. When they witness unforetold events involving an unknown creature, the children and the town itself find themselves in the middle of a massive cover up that relies on unraveling mystery. Since the film essentially hinges itself on its plot development, it will be robbing the potential audience if I should say more. But I will say that Abrams excels in creating a sense of ambiguity that keeps the audience occupied. The action delivers a solid blockbuster experience and succeeds in not becoming too gaudily involved in CGI. Story-wise, unlike Abrams previous work in Cloverfield, Super 8 fully develops a story and efficiently ends it in a satisfying manner.
Overall, Super 8 intertwines action, effective story-telling, and sentimentality into one roller coaster blockbuster. It is the essential summer blockbuster that attempts to put the overall genre in perspective. It partially falls flat in attempting to be ambitiously nostalgic, but the overall film is quality entertainment that will appeal to the thrill seekers as well as the young at heart.
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