Nothing was flawed in J.J. Abrams' magnificent sci-fi tale, which grabs you from the opening minute and never lets go. (Paramount Pictures/aceshowbiz.com)
This was pure magic. An absolute triumph of science fiction wonder, heart, humor, and was very reminiscent of classics such as E.T. or Jurassic Park. It has all the same elements that make those two movies stand up today as some of the greatest of all-time. Will Super 8 do the same? Only time will tell, but it is without question, the best movie of 2011 thus far by a long shot.
I never saw Lost and don’t really plan on it either, but my goodness does J.J. Abrams seem to have a hell of a bright future ahead of him. After re-booting the Star Trek franchise a few years back, he’s truly cemented himself in my mind as one of the best young directors in Hollywood following this film. He has said in interviews that this movie was inspired by his childhood love of the sci-fi Speilberg classics. And with the mega-star alongside him as producer, he gained inspiration and brilliantly wrote and directed this superb tale.
It’s not often that a four star movie, or any sort of good movie in general, has a group of four or five young kids as the lead roles. That’s usually reserved for a crappy Disney flick. But in Super 8, our young stars led by Joel Courtney, Riley Griffiths, and Elle Fanning bring an incredible amount of sincere heart, action chops, and a lot of humor too. It all feels very natural throughout the entire thing, and this movie is nothing without each and every one of the young kids.
The ‘throwback’ feel of it really lends a huge hand to its success as well. I don’t know why, but the 1970′s feel and look of everything makes it come across as so genuine and authentic. From the clothes and cars to the houses and television sets, it all just seems to fit ever so perfectly. Perhaps it’s because its been a while since a sci-fi classic had anything like this at all.
When you combine action that is riveting and keeps you wide-eyed with a gaping mouth, humor that is sincerely funny at all the right moments, a look and feel that is stylish and appealing, tension and anticipation that grabs you from the opening scene, and pure wonder….well, you don’t have yourself a terrific movie – you have a near perfect movie. And although this was just one viewing of this particular film, it could very well go down as a science fiction classic that has all the right tools and plays it perfectly. Oh and what happens in the end credits is one of the best things you’ll see this year.
SUPER 8: 
(out of 4)
Filed under: Movie review Tagged: | aliens, blockbuster, elle fanning, j.j. abrams, joel courtney, kyle chandler, riley griffiths, steven spielberg, summer, super 8
