Super 8 (2011)

The concept of "Super 8" is combining the elements of J.J. Abrams and Steven Spielberg. The trailer made you think it's like E.T. plus Cloverfield. Well, it's true. There is nothing new about "Super 8" but it brought us back to the good old classic times, it's funny, it's exciting, and it's amazing.

"Super 8" is another intriguing monster movie by J.J. Abrams. Yes, you really wanna know what it looks like but I'm not gonna tell you. The sad thing is it's not as intriguing as Cloverfield. But It's easy to ignore that problem because there is something better than being another Cloverfield. It feels like you are watching a good old classic movie. Great characters, Good old fashion score, and kids intrigued by the situation.

The story is really about the characters' zombie movie making and the family tragedy while there's a monster attacking their town. The monster is like the background or the subplot of this film. But the movie still got suspense. The movie is indeed beautiful and plenty of heart. The movie is just nostalgic stuff. It's not trying to be new. It just wants to show how J.J. Abrams is inspired by Steven Spielberg's movies.

There are some amazing scenes in this film. Example, the train collision was breathtaking. The movie sure has a lot of humor. It's like a relic to the old family movies. The CGI is good enough. The performances were good. The kids gave a lot of personality to their roles.

"Super 8" is a J.J. Abrams film with Spielberg's trademarks all over it. It's not a blockbuster that has a lot of action and less talking. This movie is made in old fashion style. Yep, this movie is nostalgic if you saw Spielberg's old movies and it's good to see another one like it.

Note: There is something interesting in the credits. You might wanna check it out.

Fmovies: I remember being only one of the handful of people in Budapest who wanted to see this film in original version (i.e. English audio, no subtitles) on one hot Friday evening in the summer of 2011. It is a shame everything gets dubbed in cinemas in Hungary these days. Nevertheless, it is lucky for us that there is always a place somewhere in the capital where the theatre shows American films in the form they were intended to be presented to the audience.

The movie takes place in 1979, if I am not mistaken. As one could expect from Mr Spielberg the era is presented meticulously. Movie posters here and there, kid listening to his Walkman, old cars driven on the streets and of course the children trying to shoot their dream movie with the use of a Super 8 camera.

I do not remember when was the last time I saw children acting superbly. Although the main character's father, the deputy in the town, has a vital role, as well, he is not in the focus and we are more interested in seeing the kids' struggle to finish the film even after the derailment of a train and the subsequent appearance of the US Air Force.

I am not lying to you: I was afraid Spielberg would not be enough to make it a successful movie and J.J Abrams would only mess up the story. If you think about it: Cloverfeld meets the Extra Terrestrial? Come on!

Yet, it works! It is a wonderful piece of work which, yes, most of the time reminds us of the small alien who wanted to go home but it's been almost 30 years since then so should it really be a concern that someone tries to borrow elements from a successful movie?

I was stuck to my seat the whole time and was eagerly waiting for the end of a wonderful journey. If you did not like the trailer there is no point in ruining your evening. However, if you did like it and E.T. was something that makes you remember your childhood vividly, give it a try, you will not regret it!

I give it a solid 8 out of 10. Well done, guys! Hope to see the result of your further cooperation sometime in the future.

It has been pretty much commented that Super 8 is a tribute to the classic films directed or produced by Steven Spielberg, in which the ordinary life in the suburbs was contrasted with an extraordinary phenomenon which had to be usually faced by the kids or teenagers, while the adults ignored the situations until it was too late. In that aspect, director and screenwriter J.J. Abrams achieved exactly what he proposed to himself, even though he had to sacrifice any trace of originality or surprise in the film. However, Super 8 kept me very entertained because of its solid direction, excellent performances and well written screenplay. In summary, this film is an exciting juvenile adventure seasoned with wide doses of "Spielbergian" nostalgia.

If we analyze Super 8 scene by scene, we can find an alarming number of parallels to films like The Goonies, Poltergeist, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and specially, E.T. The subject from Super 8 is superficially different, but the characters, atmosphere and tone perfectly emulate the "Spielberg style" from the '70s and the '80s, when his films (either as a director or producer) literally changed the face of popular cinema. Even the young actors from Super 8 possess that chemistry with each other which makes us to accept their long friendship and related personalities...even though that, as in any group of friends, they occasionally have juvenile disputes with each other.

And besides of the perfect chemistry they have with each other, the young actors also make a brilliant individual work, highlighting Joel Courtney, Ryan Lee and specially Elle Fanning. After the works she brought in Somewhere and Super 8, Fanning reveals herself as a great actress who is even superior to her famous sister Dakota. The moment in which her performance in Super 8 most impressed me was during a scene of "performance into performance" which is so good that it equals the one interpreted by Naomi Watts in Mulholland Dr. (I am not exaggerating). As for the adult cast, the only one who stands out is Kyle Chandler, who makes a solid work as a simultaneously benevolent and strict father.

On the negative side, the screenplay from Super 8 falters a little bit in some important points. Abrams dominates the drama and the growing suspense very well, but he occasionally violates the internal logic from the story or forces too convenient situations. Nevertheless, Super 8 is a very good film which definitely deserves a recommendation because of the genuine talent it has in front of and behind the camera.

Super 8 fmovies. As an homage to the Spielberg films of the 80's, this movie succeeds. As a piece of original entertainment? Nothing happening, folks. Now, if you're a kid and have never seen The Goonies, Jaws, ET, War of the Worlds, and Cloverfield, you may think this film is absolutely wonderful. And judged through the lens of cinema history, it may well be looked upon as a culmination of all that came before.

Let's just hope that the future is filled with something in rare supply: originality.

It's not that I wasn't entertained, it's just that I expected something more.

And I suppose that's another problem with getting older. There aren't as many surprises left in the world.

I don't make movies or review them. I am simply someone who loves going to the movies and have seen more than I can count. I was waiting for Super 8 for about 6 months. I saw the early trailers, was involved in the viral campaigns. I was amped to go and experience another great JJ Abrams film.

Like many reviewers I started on a high then at about half way my opinion of the movie had gone down a lot.

I watch a lot of movies and like to think I know a good movie when I see one. For me it's simple. Was it interesting? Was it entertaining? Was it original? This is what makes a great movie to me. Super 8 was not a great movie.

The best way to describe Super 8 is take ET and put it in a blender with Cloverfield. But it just doesn't feel like it blended how it should have.

The are too main stories...little kids having adventures, growing up and falling in love. Other the other side a monster attacks the city cloverfield style. The kid parts are filmed in a very ET 80's cinemas style. The alien parts are modern with CGI and at times it honestly doesn't feel like you are watching the same film.

Don't even get me started on inconsistencies of this movie... like a man driving into a speeding train derailing it and SURVIVING? lol... seriously?

Super 8 feels very much like a fan made dedication to Spielberg but it just didn't quite work.

I will say the kids were excellent actors and I would have been more entertained just watching a movie about them with no alien. Elle Fanning out acted every one, even the adult cast. She proved to be an amazing young actress portraying a maturity far beyond her age. But with the other characters I had no real emotional attachment to them. I didn't feel sorry for the alien, was I supposed to?

Like I said I am simply a movie buff and to me this was not anything special. I'm surprised by all these 10/10 reviews, because this movie had nothing new that you haven't seen in 50 other films. I think it would have made 2 great separate films, where they could have taken their time to build the story. Combined though I would say wait for DVD.

I have never seen a movie which could be divided to two parts of "absolutely amazing" and "boring and childish". The first 80 minutes is awesome, I was shocked by how good this movie was as I had seen some bad reviews on IMDb but then the cheesy part kicked in and ruined the whole thing.

First thing that comes in to everybody's mind when they see the first scenes is that this movie is so similar to et! The style is the same, the theme is the same, it even happens in the same era with the same kind of neighborhood which is kinda cool and nostalgic for my generation. Super 8 seems like a fan-made dedication to Spielberg but it just didn't work quite well.

From the actor's performance perspective; Elle Fanning's performance was breath-taking, and she saved some scenes. She's got potential to be a big star in the future. Kyle Chandler on the other hand was just plain and simple awful. He made the whole thing look kinda funny and stupid.

From special effects and sounding perspective, I'd say it was stunning. One of the best I have seen in the genre in years as you would expect when you see Spielberg's name on the screen. There's this big scene at the first half an hour into the movie where you just get nailed to your sit due to the load sound which should have been annoying but it was not. It was awesome. You don't see this in Germany often but after this specific scene, the audience gave Abram an standing ovation!!! It was awesome. Of course at the end, everyone was angry because he ruined the whole thing with a very cheesy "et-like" ending but all in all it was worth the money, better than most of the movies in the last 6 months, I would say.

I'm giving it 6/10 because first of all, I expected so much more from the creator of Lost and second of all, the last 30 minutes is really bad and the ending is just pure garbage. They used some cgi stuff which was very impressive but didn't quite go with the theme of the movie and was really inconsistent. All in all, it doesn't deserve the crap that it's getting in the reviews but it quite doesn't deserve the praises either. It's only OK