Abrams creates an emotionally deep story to accompany his fun, edge-of-your-seat science-fiction thrill ride
Super 8 is an incredibly fun, thrilling and moving piece of cinema - an ode to the summer sci-fi classics of Steven Spielberg - that J.J. Abrams has created to near perfection.
Super 8 is unlike many other sci-fi flicks because of many different reasons, most notably, the fact that our heroes are 13-year-old kids. The fresh faces of Joel Courtney (as Joe Lamb) and the incredibly talented Elle Fanning (as Alice Dainard) not only give off impressive performances but instantly sucker you into falling in love with them.
The movie is about a group of young kids, filming a super 8 movie about zombies (which is later shown in its entirety at the end credits). But everything falls apart when a train derails and crashes - not only ruining the kids' shot, but unleashing a terrible danger onto the town, which leads to many mysterious and unsettling happenings.
Abrams wrote and directed a sci-fi movie that boasts not only great effects (a la train derailment), but powerful and heart-warming underlying story lines that truly grasp the audience and makes them care about the story's protagonists. Themes about loss, heartbreak, love and forgiveness all come together to truly create a beautiful and meaningful story.
The intense violence and mayhem is executed well and is not overdone, nor does it try to be overly aggressive. Instead, Abrams understands that all the chaos within the film can only work when the audience cares about the people within it, and the writer/director does that beautifully.
Super 8 is a heart-pounding thrill ride accompanied by honest, emotionally deep themes, sure to get you completely immersed in Abrams storytelling.
Super 8 was one of my favourite films of 2011 so I definitely plan on writing a full-length review on this film in the near future! Stay tuned and keep your eyes peeled for when it's published!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Super 8 - Official Trailer [HD]
