Monster movie thrillers scare me, I am really jumpy and I don’t like when that happens. Yet I am drawn to these types of movies, it’s the feeling of facing your fear. I am a big fan of J.J. Abrams, and the second I saw the trailer for Super 8 I was excited and nervous all at the same time. While Cloverfield was an ok movie in my opinion, I was worried about this one basically being the same type of deal, but in Ohio! Thankfully this movie does not go down that path, and for me it delivered something much deeper.
Sometimes I get nostalgic for a simpler time. Don’t get me wrong I love my iPhone, but I think there is a danger in being super connected all the time like we tend to be today. That was the first thing that drew me in about this film. While it was set a few years before I was born, this movie felt like the eighties to me, a time I don’t remember too much, but am drawn too. One of the opening scenes shows the boys of the film jamming out to My Sharona, and I could feel myself being a part of that moment when I was a kid. We do not really get as many recent period pieces in pop culture, and this one felt very natural, classic while modern at the same time.
One of the most fun things about this movie was how the kids stole the show. Most of the actors in the film were unknowns, and it was really fun to see inexperienced actors react to things for the first time. On screen, they were appearing in a supernatural other worldly experience, and I imagine shooting their first major feature film was quite the same experience. I felt very little depth or connection to the characters in Cloverfield where the movie was mainly about a monster terrorizing New York City, I felt a really strong connection to all of the characters in this film. Abrams did an excellent job capturing the innocence of youth, a real life love story, and the quips of young friends trying to shoot a short film together. To me Super 8 is not about a monster, it’s about the relationships of these characters, which makes the film so much stronger.
This film was also very fun from the first to the last frame. Whatever what happening I was laughing. It felt like I was hanging around with good friends having a good time joking with each other. The action also had a good ebb and flow to it. Not too much action or too much story, just the right connection of both. Improv scenes have the most success when you can ride the wave of emotional highs and lows, heighten, crest, then flow down so you can reheighten. Super 8 had all the right flow in this category for me. When it got to the end, I did not even realize so much time had passed, and I really wanted to know what came next for these characters.
Super 8 is one of my favorite movies thus far during summer 2011. As I was sitting down to write this post and I was thinking about what to write, I just kept thinking, “I really liked that movie.” Good job J.J. Abrams on a film well done. Check out Super 8 this summer, you won’t be disappointed! (4 out of 5 stars)
