This was my most anticipated movie this summer for a couple of reasons: First off, I'm a Spielberg die-hard. He's the creator of cinematic comfort food as far as I'm concerned. His films define my childhood. Second, I've been impressed with the development of J.J. Abrams as a filmmaker. I was never into Lost, but I suppose he did something right to get America more concerned with what happens next on a secluded island than their economic future. Then again, people watch the Kardashians.
From the trailers, Super 8 looked like the ultimate throwback film to my childhood: you've got a sci-fi mystery set in 1970s suburbia with a child cast at the forefront of the action. The musical cues, the camera movements, the lens flare; it just LOOKED like Spielberg. Does the final product measure up to that promise? The answer is yes and no.
J.J. Abrams is not Steven Spielberg. He might well develop into a prized storyteller with an impressive portfolio of original works, but at this stage of his career he lacks the fairy dust required to turn a film into movie magic. He also isn't armed with John Williams and as famed a crew as Spielberg wielded during his golden run. It makes a big difference. Super 8 is a very, very good movie but in comparing it against the likes of Jaws, E.T., and Close Encounters - which is what J.J. Abrams seems to be begging us to do from behind the director's chair - it just feels lacking. It lacks the cohesion and effortless organic storytelling of those films. It lacks a memorable set piece or line of dialogue or lasting image. Abrams tries to force some imagery for us to hold onto (like the alien "Rubik's Cubes" and the water tower) but they feel manufactured.
There's also a lot the film gets right. The cast is excellent and the dialogue is mostly terrific. The child cast in particular is probably the best child ensemble I've seen in some time. It's a blast to watch these kids interact and argue with each other and we really care about their plight, particularly in the first half. Joe Lamb and Alice Dainard could be characters from a Spielberg film and Jackson Lamb essentially has been in the form of Brody (albeit with less of a "hero" role). The tone of the setting is spot on and it really captures that suburbia feel that's so memorable from Spielberg's classics.
What didn't work for me as much? The sci-fi mystery. I want to say it felt very manufactured and disjointed from the overall story, but that's not exactly right; it just isn't so interesting. It doesn't inspire any "wow" moments. Some could argue that the mystery is not the point: this is a coming of age story about a boy getting over the loss of his mother and finding love for the first time. That's fair and I'm not saying this isn't a very good movie, cause it is, I'm just saying that what separates Super 8 from Spielberg is that Spiely gets the sci-fi element as right as the human story. I didn't yawn through the final third of Super 8, but I wasn't hanging on the edge of my seat. Jaws is about a lot more than hunting a man-eating shark, but we're always engrossed in the adventure of finding and killing the beast. Ditto for Close Encounters and E.T. Super 8 lacks this.
Another issue I have with the film can be summed up in three letters: ILM. You know when I felt most pulled out of the story? When computer generated metal was being thrown through the air and this completely ridiculous looking alien was smashing things. It's not that the visuals are bad - they're state of the art - but they're so opposite to what this film is trying to be that they can't help but distract us from the illusion. CG is not a bad thing, it just need to be used in the right context and this story needed "invisible" VFX. As for the creature, I don't know what J.J. Abrams' fascination is with amorphic alien design, but it doesn't work for this film. I think we're supposed to emotionally connect with this alien and its plight, but we can't because it looks reminiscent of the Cloverfield and Star Trek monsters. The monster CGI is just not very good either. We needed a practical alien, in addition to practical effects, for this film to work a bit better.
Very good movie. Maybe the most heart I've seen from a studio "blockbuster" in years. I just didn't have my socks blown off like I expected to. That's probably unfair because of how good the movie actually is, but if you want to be compared with the greats - as this movie does - you've got to be held to that standard.
http://www.darkhorizons.com/reviews/1178/super-8
Exactly how I feel.
