Kids These Days

You'd be hard pressed to find a review for "Super 8" that doesn't compare it to one of J.J. Abrams' or Steven Spielberg's previous films, or to one of those "Amblin films from the 80's," although I found myself hard pressed to think of one besides "E.T." and "The Goonies."  J.J. Abrams clearly set out to show his love for those movies and bring about the same sense of wonder; and while "Super 8" certainly evokes a bit of nostalgia from the films of that era and aims to have just as much fun, if someone says "they don't make em' like they used to", well, they'd be right.

Not that there is anything inherently wrong with "Super 8," it's a wonderful entertainment that lives up to the sense of mystery built up by it's secretive marketing campaign.  It's just that nothing here is really innovative.  Abrams, along with Producer Steven Spielberg, combine elements from many different films, some of them their own, and create something that definitely reaches for the lofty goals of those 80's benchmarks, but falls just short.  First of all, one of the main attractions of the movie, which remains successfully hidden until nearly the third act, bares  an astonishing resemblance to an element from one of J.J. Abrams' previous features.  It got me thinking: "hey, I've seen this before."  This could be an issue of the design team, but I had just hoped for something a little more unexpected.  A couple minor tonal shifts also keep things just off balance, and we're reminded of just how well blended those films of yester-year were.

I don't mean to make this review sound negative.  On the contrary, I loved "Super 8"; I just aim to point out that it does not need to be the next "E.T." to become a success.  In fact, one of it's strongest merits is that it trusts its child actors to carry a film of this magnitude.  Just like "The Goonies" and "E.T" before it, "Super 8" spends most of it's time with adolescent protagonists.  Joel Courtney as Joe Lamb is instinctive in evoking the thoughts and emotions weighing on a boy of his age.  Considering the story takes place in the late 1970's, and with all the different threads going on here, the fact that the emotional through-line rests almost single-handedly on his shoulders is impressive.  Strangely, it's when the story diverts to the adult characters that it begins to bog itself down.  Kyle Chandler is a standout actor, but here as Joe's dad and a Deputy Sheriff, his role screams "I'm here for the adults in the audience!" If the filmmakers had relied on the kids more, they would have realized that the adults in the audience don't require an adult actor for levity because the kids provide it all.

As Alice, Elle Fanning is nothing short of show-stopping.  Watch her closely filming the scene as part of the character Charles' (Riley Griffiths) movie; she is a classic actress in the making.  Ron Eldard also appears as her father and it took me more than half the movie before I recognized him.  He is an under-utilized actor and his performance here is a highlight.  The film certainly has some "hey, it's THAT guy" moments, but using relatively unknown child actors was a risk that absolutely paid off.  There is talent in spades here, both in front of and behind the camera.  "Super 8," in a way, is actually a sum of risks that Abrams took to supply a modern audience with the wonderment of the films that he, and some of us, grew up on.

Notice I have said virtually nothing about the plot.  This is to your advantage if you have not yet seen the film.  I read almost nothing about it before my viewing tonight as I wanted to go in blind to whatever secrets "Super 8" might conceal.  Conceal secrets, it does, and some pay-offs are better than others.  You owe it to yourself to watch it and discover which ones work for you.  Most of what is here worked for me, one of them being, quite surprisingly, the film-within-the-movie that the young boys are shooting on the 8mm film referenced in the title  The audience is eventually rewarded with seeing it in it's entirety and I found myself curious to discover if J.J. Abrams left the young actors to actually create it themselves.

"Super 8" does not achieve everything it sets out to.  It meanders one too many times and borrows heavily from elements of various great films that have come before it.  Yet, that the audience can recognize those elements, realize that they are expertly done and be pleasantly reminded of those great "80's Amblin films" is an achievement in itself.  J.J. Abrams pays wonderful homage to the movies we loved in our youth and updates some of that magic here.  It may not be the most innovative film of summer or as timeless as the classics, but it is certainly a great deal more than "E.T. with lens flare", and that's just, well......super.