The story here is of Joe Lamb, a young pre-adolescent that is suffering from the loss of his mother. He's got a pretty rad group of friends (Charles: the director, Martin: The actor, Cary: the explosives "expert", and Preston. Joe is in charge of makeup) , and together they traverse their small town of Lillian making films. One day, they make the trek to a train station to film a scene for their film and just so happen to witness an exhilarating train crash. As the boys and one girl (new inductee to the group Alice Dainard) flee something emerges from the wreckage and slowly begins to wreak havoc on the small town. As Joe and Alice try to piece together the ongoing mystery they begin to experience new emotions for each other.
As an honorary member of the Spielberg era (I was born in the 90's but grew up with all his classic films. To be honest I really do wish I had grown up in the 70's so I could have seen all those classics in theatres. It would have been awesome!!!) Super 8 seemed to be tailor made for me. It does take place sometime in the 70's and has several neat nods in tone to some of Speilberg's films from that era including but not limited to Close Encounters of the Third Kind, The Goonies, and ET. This gives the whole film a very cool nostalgic vibe that I really loved. Super 8 hearkens back to a time when movies were simpler, but made much more of a personal impact on audiences. It understands that movies work best when they make a connection with the viewer. I know that Super 8 definently made a connection with me, right from the opening scene which, without one line of dialogue, immediately tells us what has just occurred and beautifully creates this tragic sense of sadness that continues to exist underneath the surface of the film. In this way does it follow the rule that so many movies break these days: show, don't tell, and I love it for doing that. I also could relate to the group of kids in the film. I grew up acting and I've always had a passion for movies and the art of making them. I'm sure that if you had a childhood similar to the kids in the film, most of the funny parts will seem much more funny...they sure did to me.
Despite it's insistence that it is a sci-fi film, Super 8 works best when it is focusing on it's young protagonists and delving into their personal lives and friendships. The two most outstanding actors in the film are Elle Fanning, who plays Alice, and Joel Courtney, who plays Joe. they have an undeniable chemistry and play their roles with just the right sense of wonderment at the proceeding events. In one scene, when Elle goes from being stone cold to being close to tears and then cooly asking if that was good enough for the take that Charles was filming...it's a thing of beauty. She is given ample opportunity to show off her acting prowess here and she does not disappoint, most moviegoers will find themselves falling in lover with as Joe does. Joel also gets more than enough screen time to show us what he's got, and he does not disappoint either. from his first melancholy scene to his last look of bewildered wonderment he proves that he is one of the most prominent child actors today. It is a thing of beauty to watch Elle and Joel interact together and play off each other, often times their portrayals giving me some serious chills. One scene that sticks out is when, despite her father's warnings, Alice sneaks over to Joel's place and some serious conversations ensue. seriously guys, keep your eyes on Elle and Joel, they are a force to be reckoned with.
The other child actors do a superb job here as well. Ryan Lee is absolutely hilarious as Cary, the zany one of the group. Gabriel Basso is also pretty damned funny as Martin, and Zach Mills as Preston is also pretty cool but doesn't really make a lasting impression. By far, the one that stick out the most in the group is Riley Griffiths as Charles. He knows when to play it up for laughs and when to slow it down and play it more serious, whats best is that he never comes across as trying to be funny. His friendship with Joe is another one of the best things about the film. They are real buddies and genuinely care about one another. The best scene they share together is when Charles reveal a surprising plot element that most films these days overlook completely. He is a believable character that I cared about in this film, in fact I cared about every single one of the kids.
As a group, the kids interactions with each other are believable and come across as genuine and real. This is how kids talk, what they discuss and fantasize about in their spare time, and this is the kind of adventure every kid in their right mind dreams of having one day. It's a real delight to see the kids interact and play off of each other, and it's also pretty cool to be able to delve into their friendships and see what makes each of them tick. The group dynamic is by far one of the best things about Super 8.
Rounding out the cast are the lead adults. There's Kyle Chandler as Jackson Lamb, Joel's father and town deputy that is struggling to balance his new role as sole parent and his position as deputy. Only complicating things are the persistent military that invades the town after the train crash and lead Jackson to do some investigating of his own. There's Ron Eldard as Louis Dainard, Alice's drunkard of a father. He does care about his daughter but his alcoholic tendencies keep getting in the way of his role as dad. There's also David Gallagher as the funny stoner dude Donny. He's got a crush on Charles' sister and comes to the group's rescue several times throughout the film. He makes for another enjoyable and hilarious character in the film.
Super 8 takes many risks, and in an age where films are perfectly comfortable to play it safe that's a huge achievement. It isn't afraid to place it's kid protagonists in danger several times throughout the film, and unlike the newest Indiana Jones film it actually feels dangerous and there is always the risk that they may not make it out of this alive.
There are several huge set pieces that really blew me away in Super 8, but by far the most impressive is the fantastic train wreck sequence that seems to go on forever (this is a good thing). Train cars fly through the air, some catch on fire, fireballs explode and fly dangerously close to our protagonists and when you think it's over it's really just begun. Like the energizer bunny, the sequence keeps going and going and going. It was phenomenal. Every single action scene in the film was superbly done and is unforgettable once viewed.
Super 8, despite it's numerous accomplishments, does have one major downfall: it tries to do too much. Between trying to be a nostalgic look back at the good old days of moviemaking, and trying to be a look at our bygone days of youth and what it was like to be a kid, and trying to be a coming of age story, and also trying to be an exciting sci-fi film, Super 8 ultimately becomes a bit bogged down. To be honest though, you barely notice this except at some of the slower moments of the film and even then it's only a fleeting realiziation. Super 8 shoots for the moon but gets the stars instead, it's not so much of a loss as it is a happy shortcoming ( my only other complaint is that the film focuses too much on the monster's story and not enough time on the kids). Don't let this deter you from seeing the film though, because it is still pretty damned perfect in just about every way nontheless.
Super 8 is many things: Mainly it's a nostalgic film wrapped in pretty sci-fi wrappings. I, for one, want to see more films like this. I like the vibe the film gave off, and it really does feel like you are opening the coolest, most rad time capsule ever when you view this film. It's fucking neat. Super 8, despite a few shortcomings, is an instant classic that will become one for the ages. Needless to say it will probably become my personal favorite film of the summer, possibly the year. As Charles would say: It's mint.
4.5/5 Stars
