Title: Super 8 Director: J.J. Abrams Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Studio: Paramount Pictures Genre(s): Science Fiction Rated:         (For intense sequences of sci-fi action and violence, language and some drug use)

CONSUMER ADVICE

Parents, there is no language and no sex scenes. Violence is more suspenseful than violent. Recommended for ages 10 and up.

At the beginning of “Super 8” we spend a lot of time with some boys. They are dressed in amateur makeup and acting silly because they are making a monster movie with a personal camera. This is an unusual start for a big budget blockbuster, but it's effective because we get to know these kids personally before the journey begins. One of the kids even says this himself when asked why the cop in their movie needs a wife (“Because the audience will like him more” he explains in a frustrated tone). While filming their movie though they witness a train crash that sets off a chain of events in their small town that's hard to explain. The Air Force moves in and starts looking for something. What that is they won't say, but they're looking for it.

All the town's dogs run away, as if they know something is wrong. For that matter, people start to disappear. Now the movie starts to sound like a horror movie, but don't assume that just yet. Yes, there is a monster running around town. The previews have prepared you for this. What the previews don't show you is the boy Joe, who lost his mother four months ago. He helps make the movie because he likes his friends and wants to keep busy, but he also wants to get closer to a girl named Alice (who is playing the wife). Joe's father doesn't like the girl though. He forbids his son to see her. We find out later it has more to do with Alice's father and how he was apparently involved in the death of Joe's mother, but that doesn't become apparent until later on.

Oh yeah, Joe's father. Deputy Jackson Lamb. After the loss of his wife he discovers that he is about as emotionally detached from his son as can be. The monster mystery gives him a chance to turn a blind eye to his personal problems. So then, now that we have all the characters, what role does the monster play in all this? A minor one, shockingly enough. The monster is largely unseen and seems to do little more than eat the occasional person. As the movie goes on we find out this is not only incorrect, but that the monster may not even be evil. Likewise, the characters in this movie all have problems which they choose to ignore and turn a blind eye to, but the monster forces them to face issues that they otherwise might have avoided altogether.

It's the unusually thoughtful script that makes this more of a big budget character study rather than a full blown action film. So much time in the early portions of the film show the kids making their movie and having fun. When the train crashes some innocence dies in them. By the end of the movie everyone will have been forced to deal with the problems they face. Last I checked that makes “Super 8” a coming of age story. “Super 8” was written and directed by J.J. Abrams, whose previous film credits include “Star Trek” and “Cloverfield.” He also created the hit show “Lost.” People have asked me several times who the next Steven Spielberg is, and after viewing “Super 8” I think Abrams is our guy.

He has a knack for not only knowing what makes a story digestible to a mass audience, but he can direct an action sequence that is comprehensible and smooth. To top it all off, his movies have a sense of wonder and imagination that many modern directors miss. It's no mistake that Spielberg himself helped get this project off the ground. I know people will point this out, but only a solid director could have made “Super 8” the thoughtful and exciting film that it is without making it come out as farce. “Super 8” is also sharing theater space with “Thor” and “X-Men: First Class" two summer blockbusters that have their own unique deepness that you don't normally see in a summer movie. I'm starting to think that maybe “The Dark Knight” really was the wake up call Hollywood needed, and we're starting to see the fruit of studios trying to give us something lasting rather than something disposable.

Spaceriffic Review

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