SUPER 8 is far more fascinating as a coming of age tale and a nostalgia piece than as a monster amuck film. The suspenseful scenes of the alien attacks are well-crafted and exciting but I didn't really fear for the lives of our pre-teen heroes. That doesn't mean that writer-director J.J. Abrams has them off the hook. Several big action sequences has the motley crew almost being killed constantly by train derailments and a tank battle within the confines of the suburbs. These scenarios fit perfectly since the kids, as well as the adults, are willing do reckless and dangerous things as a release from all of the family pain and suffering that has been afflicted on them.
Joe (Joel Courtney) is working on his best friend Charles' z-grade zombie movie four months after the tragic death of his mother. The summer break is suited to be unlimited time for it but it becomes borrowed time due to his stubborn and still suffering father (Kyle Chandler). One curfew-breaking night has Joe, Charles and other friends filming an easy melodramatic scene at a train station. Along for the film ride, but also illegally driving them to and from, is Alice (Elle Fanning), Joe's crush and the daughter of the man socially blamed for his mother's death. A "mint" opportunity to have a train go by while the actors perform proves to be disastrous once it derails. With this destruction comes more destructive entities, as both the U.S. Air Force and something that broke loose begin to haunt inside Joe's town and their Super 8 film cameras.
Though invested in making popcorn fuel, J.J. Abrams explores how film, whether in moving pictures or still shots, has become our keeper of memories and how it consumes us from letting the past go. Joe constantly tortures himself by holding on to his mother's locket and repeatedly watching old home movies. Only by sharing his feelings with his equal Alice and confronting his anger with his dad is he able to draw out the brave and caring leader in himself. But Abrams also wisely showcases the joie de vivre of filmmaking with the character of Charles. The young and stubborn auteur wants everything to be "mint" and when given some cinema verite, such as when some military personnel take evidence out of a house, he has everyone get dressed up and read his new lines about how Vietnam was hard for a pint-sized kid in the army. The real treat comes at the ending credits, where we are treated to the entire film, bad splices and synches in all.
The script isn't perfect and sadly seems cookie cutter at times. The Air Force is one-dimensionally evil but dumb enough not to pick up on the Super 8 film trail. They also make giant leaps in thinking when the direction calls for it, such as their takeover of the school. Also, similar to the Abrams' produced film CLOVERFIELD, the alien creature is horrifying but once you totally see it becomes kinda laughable. However, the real laughs come from Abrams wanting to humanize the alien even after he kills and eats several side characters. When he isn't seemingly strip-mining elements of E.T. and THE GOONIES, Abrams makes the real stupid decisions for the deflating third act, which is clearly very rushed and has one important character captured for its entirety.
Despite these harsh sentiments, I did very much enjoyed the expertise of the film. Abrams and cinematographer Larry Fong have perfect framing and mise en scene when they are not being distracted by annoying lens flares. All of the child actors handle the heavy burden of playing real kids, swearing and insults galore, to great results. Joel Courtney is a well-suited boy hero who is able to bring forth the deep pains of his character. I was also particularly fawned of Elle Fanning, who makes Alice to look tough and world-weary beyond her years. She subtly captures the burden of being a "murderer's" offspring and has great chemistry with Courtney, most notable in a comical and heartwarming scene involving how to act like a zombie. The adult actors, from Chandler to his nemeses Ron Eldard and Noah Emmerich, handle their parts well for the melodramatic and action moments. Major regards are also in order to the sound design crew for making the ring of a gas dispenser sound creepy and all of explosions sound really good.
SUPER 8 is magnificent as an alien and family disaster film. It is a nice little sci-fi fable with the nostalgia goggles glued tightly on. The musical cues, the Daisy Dukes and the running gag of a lost handheld electronic football all come together to make a thrilling experience. Abrams may have exploited a lot to make it but that doesn't mean it can't fully work. I believe with time, I will embrace it more as one of the true standouts of 2011.
FINAL REVIEW: 4 / 5
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