Super 8

Super 8 could be called many things: thriller, science-fiction, action-adventure, comedy, mystery, etc. But maybe more than anything, it is a ghost of blockbusters past—especially the past of co-producer Steven Spielberg.

Working families jostle and argue in hectic meal-time scenes reminiscent of E.T. Adolescent boys banter and heckle one another—all talking at the same time—like a certain group of Goonies. The military mysteriously pokes around town as residents process close encounters they cannot understand. Even the light shimmers and flares in a Spielberg-ian way.

Oh, the nostalgia. But luckily, it’s more than just that. Spielberg and adventure movies of the late ’70s/early ’80s are channeled not just in appearance but in tone, storytelling and—most importantly—heart by director and writer J.J. Abrams (director of Mission: Impossible III and Star Trek, producer of Cloverfield, creator of Alias and Lost). You’re gonna need a bigger boat for all the clever Spielberg homages, genre conventions, and Abrams’ retro-style filmmaking. The result? A surprisingly fresh and rich character-based adventure full of roller-coaster thrills, genuine scares, hearty laughs and touching moments. This could be many filmgoers’ favorite movie of the year—and it will certainly be one of 2011’s most fun.

Elle Fanning as Alice, Joel Courtney as Joe

In 1979, Joe Lamb (Joel Courtney) and five middle-school friends are filling the long summer days in their Ohio steel town by making a zombie movie for a film festival. Filming on location late one night, this new group of goonies witness a catastrophic train crash. Strange discoveries at the wreck lead them to believe it was no mistake. Soon, common genre movie conventions start cropping up: dogs run away, people vanish, lights flicker, property is damaged and the military covertly conducts tests. While the boys juggle finishing their movie with figuring out what really happened that night, Joe’s dad (Kyle Chandler of Friday Night Lights), the town’s deputy sheriff, pushes closer and closer to uncovering the surprising truth.

Another surprise is how well Super 8 executes both the little quiet moments and the big loud elements. The teen characters—led by newcomer Courtney—are deep, likeable and compelling. Meanwhile, the humongous thrill-ride set pieces are first-rate. Two back-to-back scenes showcase this versatility. The boys add a girl to their movie cast not knowing if she can act (she’s cute!) and are tenderly speechless when she delivers a soft, tear-filled scene completely out of nowhere. Seconds later, Abrams stages the most ambitious, explosive, theatre-rocking train wreck in film history.

Kyle Chandler plays Jackson Lamb in SUPER 8, from Paramount Pictures.

Kyle Chandler as Jackson Lamb

Like Abrams’ Cloverfield or Spielberg’s War of the Worlds, Super 8 doesn’t follow key military leaders or brilliant scientists who save the day from a threat. Instead, it follows those who are simply enduring, surviving and learning about themselves in the heat of the fire. I love that type of focus. However, some will feel that in Super 8 it leads to an anticlimactic ending. Just as the plot seems to be building to a crescendo, the entire conflict just … goes away. Literally.

The cause seems to be twofold. First, the movie has two distinct story threads that touch but never really intertwine. In fact, if the story of Joe and his friends was edited out of the movie, the more standard plot of the mysterious train and its cargo would play out in pretty much the same way. Abrams has said that this movie began with “a premise without characters … and great characters who needed a premise.” The more time passes since I’ve seen it, the more it feels exactly like that.

Left to right: Kyle Chandler plays Jackson Lamb, Joel Courtney plays Joe Lamb, Elle Fanning plays Alice Dainard, and Ron Eldard plays Louis Dainard in SUPER 8, from Paramount Pictures.

Be afraid. Be very afraid.

The second tension is well-expressed by the young filmmakers in Super 8. Charles (Riley Griffiths), who directs the kids’ movie, adds a wife to the central detective of his zombie script to, as he says, give the movie a story. “If he has a wife,” Charles says, “you care more when he’s investigating.” Charles is right: Emotional investment in characters is key. But it alone does not make a story. Story also necessitates plot. You can have the world’s greatest characters but they need something to do. This where Super 8 trips a bit in the final half hour. I loved these characters and their relationships and wanted them to achieve. To act. To accomplish. Instead—save for one great, brave speech—they mainly react. Because the movie is only 100 minutes long, I was ready to see these loved characters make one last meaningful stand just as it abruptly resolved.

Director/writer/producer J.J. Abrams on the set of SUPER 8, from Paramount Pictures.

J. J. Abrams on the set

But it’s clear that Super 8‘s focus is not the destination of the plot; it’s the journey of the characters. Because of that center—and its ties to Spielberg’s past—the movie displays some traits not often seen in big summer blockbusters: innocence, wonder, simplicity and authenticity. Of course, those qualities are not dead—in real life or the movies—but they have so commonly been replaced by skepticism, worldliness and complexity. That’s not to say the movie doesn’t have some of the edgier elements of typical youthful adventures—after all, Spielberg was behind the two 1984 movies (Gremlins and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom) that led to the creation of the PG-13 rating. The boys aren’t all innocent. Bad things—horrible events—happen. But through it all, Super 8 maintains a hopeful wonder and a youthful, simple idealism. Unconditional love is as close as your buddy’s house. Your parents are your biggest fans (and heroes). Your bike can take you anywhere. And no matter what junk is happening in life, you can still escape into the world of your Super 8 video camera.

Note: Stick around for the credits and a fun treat.

Talk About It

Discussion starters

Joe says, “Bad things happen. But you can still live.” What does that mean to you?
What does the release of the locket in the final scene signify? Why would Joe do that? Did it seem that letting go was an issue he had?
How does the father-son relationship of Jackson and Joe change in the course of the movie? What exactly makes it stronger at the end?
How does this movie portray the military? What messages does it send?
What is the difference between plot and story? What makes a great story?

The Family Corner

For parents to consider

Super 8 is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi action and violence, language and some drug use. Take the rating seriously. Sequences of peril are very intense and scary. There are two scenes of vomiting. It appears a woman’s leg is eaten. The frequent profanity includes several uses of the Lord’s name in vain, various euphemisms for sexual organs, and one f-bomb. Many swear words come from middle-school-aged characters. Drugs are consumed prominently; the secondary characters who consume alcohol and drugs are harmed by it. In fact, one main character declares, “Drugs are so bad!”