2011 Summer Movie Season - Super 8: Review & Analysis

  Dream Duo Is Born! Abrams and Spielberg Make Movie Magic In Thrilling and Chilling Blockbuster, Super 8!!!
                    By: Brandon Porter



"I saw it, No one believes me!!!."
"I Believe You." - Joe Lamb and an Injured Louis Dainard












Joe Lamb (Joel Courtney), Charles Kaznyk (Riley Griffiths),
Carey (Ryan Lee), and Martin (Gabriel Basso) return to their
town were it is under siege from the mysterious being.



The Story

 In life, there are thing that can't be explained and there are things you have to see to believe. That is the case for 13 year old Joe Lamb (Joel Courtney) and his friends. Just months after the tragic death of his mother, Joe finds himself living with his father the town deputy (Kyle Chandler) who dosen't seem to intrested in taking on the role of parent. But things soon change when Joe and his friends are filming a low budget monster movie with their super 8 camera and witness a horrifying train crash during production. Soon after, strange dissapearances and supernatural events start to unfold causing confusion and fear through out the town. Now Joe, his best friend Charles (Riley Griffiths), and the rest of their group are in for the ride of their lives as they try to discover the truth behind these unexplainable happenings and discover a danger never witnessed before.






The great chemistry of Super 8's fresh young cast was just
one of the film's main driving forces.



Analysis

  With so much secrecy surrounding Super 8 when the film was officially announced earlier this year, many critics had reason to believe that they were in for an enjoyable experience or being completely set up to watch something they had seen before. J.J. Abrams unique marketing technique was one that would either be hit or miss. And happy to say it wasn't just a hit, but a home run!!! Critics have been raving about the movie's tone and style calling it a flashback of the films that they watch when they were kids. In working with Steven Spielberg, Abrams made it clear that he was one of the great influences for getting him into film. Super 8 features some familiar story elements from Speilberg's past works such as E.T, Jaws, and The Goonies with just a hint of one of Abrams' own work like Cloverfield. In addition to reciving an 83% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, Jamie Graham from british film magazine Total Film, gave the film a 5 star rating stating that Like Steven, Abrams has an eye for awe, his deft orchestration of indelible images, a tank trundling through a children’s playground, a plot-pivotal landmark framed in the distance through a small hole in a bedroom wall,  marking him as a born storyteller. However, critics state that the film's biggest winner is the young actors. With Joel Courtney and Riley Griffiths both appearing in their first big budget film, they showed great chemistry with the veteran members of the cast. It will be intresting to see how these two do in Hollywood down the road. The film has a great feel to it that is exciting for young moviegoers and a trip to the past for the old school crowd. So all mebers of the audience young and old get the best of both worlds.



With heart warming moments, insane action sequneces, and
suspenseful situations that will  leave you breathless, Super 8
makes it's presence felt to become one of the best
experiences you'll have at the movies this summer.



Review   Words can't descibe long I wanted to see this movie. After having to wait a week after it's release to deal with some important matters, I finally saw it in IMAX the following weekend. And my early expectations were totally exceded. Super 8 is one movie that was worth waiting for!!! When I first saw the trailers, I had the thought of Abrams is being real hush hush about this movie leaving me suspicious of what the creature that busted out of the train really was. The story has some elements of movies I'd seen before from both Abrams and Steven Speilberg, both of whom I have tremendous respect for. Abrams looked to have taken elements from Speilberg's past works and combined it with his own. The components fit very nicely resulting in something original instead of a repeat of past works or a crime of plagerism. The action sequences in the movie I originally thought were gonna be average, but instead I was completly blown away!!! The train crash action sequence was more intense than I had originally anticipated which excited me greatly. That scene is right up there with past actions sequences I've seen from Transformers, Avatar, and recently Fast Five. The real winner however has to be the job Joel Courtney and Riley Griffiths did acting wise in the film. It was hard to imagine that this was their first ever movie for it seemed like they had been doing this for years. In addition, the amount of suspense in most moments of the film were both thrilling and chilling at the same time. There would be one moment were I was relaxed, then out of nowhere, a startling event ocurrs that made my heart stop. Despite the intense action and suspenseful moments, the movie surprisingly also does a good job of having a very heart felt tone. The story was actually about Joel's character, Joe learning to let go of pain and loss. Being he lost his mother, it was great to see that he actually grew over the course of the film at the very end of the film learned to not hold on to sorrow and saddness. This is the best entertainment I have had so far all summer and it's hard to believe that the best is yet to come.

Rating and Final Thoughs

 88% B+

   Super 8 is a phenomenal blend of heart, thrills, and chills that translate into a surefire summer hit!!! Speilberg and Abrams make a great team and I look forward to seeing them do other projects together in the future.



There is always that one movie that you regret passing up to
go see. Super 8 is definatly a movie that would be an absolute
travisty to miss.