Super 8

There are some things which I just don't get. People dressing small, rodent-like dogs in clothes. The need that tourists apparently have to bump in to you, wander around aimlessly and walk in the middle of the road because “they're on holiday”. Teenage girls' obsession with Robert Pattinson and, dare I say it, the seemingly religious following that the Star Wars saga has created over the years. I just don't get it. Advertising in cinemas is one of these things. On my recent trip to my local World of Cine to see Super 8 (don't worry I will get to it – just bear with me), I was confused about the advert which came on as the lights dimmed. It showed various close-ups of people's faces laughing, crying, looking concerned etc. in slow motion and at the end, advertised the 'cinema experience' and how we should all go to the cinema. I'm sorry, but isn't this like advertising the benefits of losing weight to a group of people at the local WeightWatchers meeting?! Talk about preaching to the converted...

Anyway, on with my review. Fresh from his directorial success with Star Trek, J. J. Abrams has teamed up with the legendary Steven Spielberg to create Super 8, a film which centres around the efforts of a group of children to make a horror film using their Super 8 camera in late 1970's America. However, whilst filming, they witness a strange train crash which heralds the start of weird and unsettling events in their town which they begin to investigate. I was immediately taken with how much of a throw-back genre film this is and the strong performances given by almost all the characters. It reminded me of Spielberg's earlier works such as The Goonies and had the perfect balance between action, narrative and emotion. All too often, these sort of films focus too much on either spectacle or on soppy, cringe-worthy emotion and in doing so, alienate the audience. In the case of Super 8, I found myself totally accepting the emotional turmoil of Joe (after the loss of his mother) and believing in the (at times) rocky relationship with his father. These moments in the film really gave it substance and showed what an effective storyteller J. J. Abrams is. Furthermore, the relationship between Joe and the schoolgirl crush Alice, was handled with such sensitivity and skill that it provided the perfect juxtaposition to the fighting and threat that ran throughout the film. This relationship provided one of the stand out moments in the film when Alice tries out her zombie acting skills on Joe and embraces him for the first time (sounds weird I know, but just trust me). The way in which this humorous sequence deals with the often serious issue of love is an example of just how good a director and writer Abrams is.

The nostalgic and slightly retro feel of the film fitted perfectly with the setting and characters and made the whole film seem 'nice' and inoffensive, especially with its treatment of violence and aggression. Too often these days action/sci-fi films are filled with blood splattered limbs flying all over the place and characters dying in 'I-wouldn't-even-want-my-mother-in-law-to-die-like-that” fashion, that a film such as Super 8 with its focus on characters rather than blood is a welcome change. The acting, of course, helped in this regard and a stand-out performance by Joel Courtney as Joe has put him on the right track to stardom. The supporting actors were first class and the script offered many comedic one-liners which were delivered with such great effect (especially by Ryan Lee as pyrotechnic maniac Cary). I couldn't review Super 8 without mentioning the 'thing' which threatens the little town in which the children live. Again, bucking the trend, the 'thing' is not seen clearly throughout most of the film which adds to the tension and threat. Even when it is revealed, it remains fairly scary...and far too spider-like for my liking!

From a technical angle, the film is well shot with a focus on facial expressions which again adds to the emotion and makes you care about the characters and their predicaments. The special effects are well executed, if at times sometimes over the top (the train crash scene was the loudest thing I have ever heard) and the plot is well constructed and engaging (something which Spielberg gets right so often). The film's score is composed by Michael Giacchino, who worked with Abrams on Star Trek and on other films such as Up and The Incredibles. His sensitive scoring and rousing themes really do tug at the heartstrings and made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up in the final scene (I urge you to listen to the track 'Letting Go'). For the most part, Super 8 is a touching and uplifting film which harks back to the good old days of family action films and has the balance between characterisation and action just right. Michael Bay, take note. 

Clapper Rating: * * * *