DAILY FILM DOSE: A Daily Film Appreciation and Review Blog: Super 8

Tuesday 8 November 2011

Super 8

Super 8 (2011) dir. J.J. Abrams
Starring: Joel Courtney, Elle Fanning, Kyle Chandler, Riley Griffiths, Ryan Lee, Glynn Turman, Noah Emmerich

***

By Alan Bacchus

J.J. Abrams’ painstaking love letter to the Steven Spielberg films of old couldn't live up to the true magical experience of say ET or Close Encounters of the Third Kind, but he’s not allowed to try and damned if he doesn’t come really, really close. Abrams does such a good job of aping the kids vs. adults theme Spielberg popularized in the ‘80s, it brought me back to those summer days as a suburban kid playing guns in the backyard, blowing off firecrackers illegally and just about getting into any kind of dangerous shit I could think of. Super 8 is not perfect, but it makes for the most highly entertaining summer film of the year – a genuine love for film, filmmaking and just being a kid.

That said, the film doesn't quite hold up on second viewing, especially on Blu-Ray - thus losing a 'half-star'. Much of the retro-freshness is lost on the small screen, and the deficiencies in plotting show their wear. It's no less an admirable third film from JJ Abrams though, gradually improving his big screen filmmaking skills.

We’re in a classic small Midwestern American town in the ‘70s, an idolized working class suburban world where kids can ride bikes safely without helmets and without adult supervision. The kids in this film are not unproductive brats but highly motivated pre-teen geeks who have channelled their love of horror and monster movies into their own filmmaking coterie. Joe, Charlie, Preston and their 10-year-old friends are in the midst of shooting their latest 8 mm zombie film for the Cleveland Super 8 Film Festival. Charles (Griffiths), the fat kid, is the director and Joe (Courtney) is the special effects guy. After roping the unattainable blonde Alice (Fanning) into the mix they have their full cast and are ready to film their big emotional scene at night at the train station. The joy of having a real train pass behind the camera to achieve ‘production value’ turns to tragedy when the train derails and crashes in a spectacular accident.

After the accident, funny things start to happen in the small town. Mysterious military men show up to take scientific samples, mysterious electrical disturbances cause power outages and a gnarly beast seems to be chasing away dogs and abducting people from the town. Joe and Charlie have a theory that it’s an alien experiment gone wrong and a government cover-up. Like ET, it’s the kids versus the adults, using their guile, ingenuity and naivetĂ© to save the town and the kidnapped townsfolk from both the beast and those despicable military men.

J.J. Abrams is so reverential to Spielberg it was almost mandatory that Spielberg be involved to shepherd this project as producer. Abrams cherry picks plotting and character elements from Jaws, ET, Close Encounters, Goonies and even Jurassic Park to create a fun, thrilling and supremely entertaining chimera of a film. The town hall scene in which the police deputy answers the questions of the people apes similar scenes in Jaws and Close Encounters. The sharply paced montage scenes pay homage to the great preparation scene in Close Encounters. And a confrontation with the beast in a control unit trailer reminds us of the same scene in The Lost World: Jurassic Park. The list could go on and on, but none of it feels like theft. The genuine heart brought to the picture by the fine acting of the children relieves Abrams of crafting a purely technical exercise. Such was the case with the awful steroid-infused Star Trek reboot a couple of years ago.

It’s not completely a Spielberg film either, as Abrams’ own stylistic hallmarks are in full effect. The train wreck, for instance, feels remarkably like the plane crash scene in the pilot episode of Lost. If anything, the wreck is almost over-produced. Lasting minutes, it’s a bombardment of explosions and flying cars tumbling continuously for much longer than what would happen in reality. But he can’t be faulted for pulling out the stops to create a spectacle. As usual, he shoots the film in wide-angle anamorphic and along with it, more lens flares. Though distracting in Star Trek, they actually fit the mood in this film and reference Spielberg’s own play with light to highlight emotion and create a tone of magic escapism.

The film threatens to fall apart in the final act, where the plotting fails us. For example, we see a huge army firing guns and attacking what feels like an army when it’s really just the one beast. The beast, which the kids learn is actually benevolent, never develops into the sympathetic character we’re meant to believe. And the creation of his spaceship just doesn’t make sense. That said, there’s a surprisingly profound moment between the beast, Joe and his treasured pocket watch that hits all the right emotional buttons. Again, it’s not at the level of ET’s dramatic departure from earth, but it’s touching nonetheless.

Super 8 is available on Blu-ray from Paramount Pictures Home Entertainment.

6 comments :

Unknown said...

I think that I agree mostly with what's been said here. For me, the set-up was all good and fine, but when it was meant to get going nothing much exciting happened. I blogged about it when if first came out (http://matthewhurstfilm.blogspot.com/2011/09/super-8-film-review.html - bit of selfish advertising there). I don't think I'll be watching it again.

Anonymous said...

I actually found the lens flares more distracting in this film than in Star Trek. Although overused in Star Trek, they actually complemented the glossy futuristic look of the film, whereas in Super 8, they seemed to detract from the retro/small town feel.

Alan Bacchus said...

Good point Anon.

Anonymous said...

Did you "really" watch the film ? Obviously, you didn't pay much attention to the movie ... I'm guessing you were writing your review instead of watching.
Of course, had you actually been paying attention, you would have noticed that when you said "Joe and his treasured pocket watch....." you would have realized that it actually was a Necklace with a "Photo Locket" with a picture of his mother and Joe inside.

Anonymous said...

The difference between a watch and a necklace doesn't disprove Daily Dose's having watched the film, just that the film was too dark for anyone to be able to pick out details such as small props, talent or plot line. I didn't see any of those things.

Anonymous said...

The difference between a watch and a necklace doesn't disprove Daily Dose's having watched the film, just that the film was too dark to discern things like small props, acting talent or plot line - I failed to see any of those things.