Super 8

            So it goes, the summer movie season. Beginning with Spielberg’s “Jaws” the summer run of films have generally consisted of  big budget tent pole studio releases that run the gamut from: “Highly anticipated adaptation of insert-your favorite childhood action figure, comic book character, camp television show, etc.” If not that, we get at least one or two gems from the Happy Madison crew- I think part of me just died- that will at least earn a $100 million. Most if not all have been the dominant film franchises of the past three years, with the exception of harry Potter as the purely literary adaptation amongst the tier of Transformers, X-Men sequels, and others of that ilk.

            This leads us to Super8. From its initial teaser trailer: a spectacular scene where a train collides with a truck, derailing most of its cars off the track. And then one car caught our eye, mysterious force was trying to break out of one of the trailers, with more and more might it finally broke loose. Alas, whatever it was, we were blinded by a flash of light, displaying the title “Super 8”. What could it mean? Well, seeing that J.J Abrams was in the director’s chair and Spielberg producing, a myriad of possibilities came to mind. The common denominator was that it could be Abram’s own E.T. The idea of a character driven alien invasion story with modern day effects had me more filled with more anticipation than a hipster at a Yeah Yeah Yeah concert.

            As mentioned before, it’s no secret that Abram’s film is heavily influenced by the early work of Spielberg (think Close Encounters or E.T.) If it couldn’t spell it out to you any clearer, Steven himself produced this picture.  But for a film that strives to be a modern day E.T how does it fare?

            In the late 70s, our protagonist, 12-year-old Joe Lamb (Joel McCourteny) is working with his determined friend Charles (Riley Griffiths); make an 8mm Zombie flick for their local film festival. Part of their daily production schedule is under tight secrecy as to avoid the attention of their disapproving elders. A majority of the production includes scouting locations, making their own makeshift costumes, and gingerly apply zombie make up to their stars. One of the ubixtious elements of a monster film is your love interest; here Charles and Joe have Alice Dainard, who plays the dual role of love interest as zombie and female star. She’s a volatile talent for the production; not just for her good looks but that fact that she drives her father’s car to the pivotal train station.

            Once at the stop, the boys and Alice resume shooting when the frame of a century happens. A train comes roaring out of the night. Always the opportunist, Charles calls for Action and Alice on Joe proceed to perform as the train passes them by (which is odd considering the sound of the train would inevitably ruin any usable sound form the dialogue. Despite that flaw in shooting, the scene goes on without a hitch till out of the darkness comes a pickup truck driving dead set into the train. Resulting from this is spectacular array of violence, from train cars taking flight into the night sky, to the terrific explosion of the engine itself, overall very entertaining. Predictably, something breaks free out of one of the cars. What was it and how did it get there? I cannot divulge too much, to put it bluntly, see the movie for the reveal or think on your own.

            This is part of the fun of the film, the manner in which Abram’s ratchets the suspense is a joy to watch. For example, Joe’s dog disappears. When he posts the note on the police board, through a pan out, it’s revealed to us that multiple dogs have been missing.  Later on there’s a map with the dots revealing all of the dogs in the town’s disappearances. It’s through shots like these that give the viewer an uneasy feeling. Also there several scenes where metallic objects through mysterious means fly away from people's homes. Or in some instances fly away anywhere period. A key moment occurs at a gas station where the hubcaps of a car are violently ripped from their tires by an n invisible force. These all work to the film’s advantage as what we’re imagining is much more frightening than what’s going to be on screen. Concurrently U.S. Air force (investigators and troops) arrives into town, making a great effort to quarantine specific areas of the town as well as investigate the dubious cargo of the train car.  With this as their starting point, Joe and company make it their top priority to get to the bottom of this mystery.

            On the flip side, you cannot have a monster movie without compelling human characters to carry the film. Joe’s father, Deputy sheriff Jack Lamb is played by TV’s Kyle Chandler, best known as coach Eric Taylor from Friday Night Lights. Prior to the main events, Joe’s mother dies in an accident at the local factory, at the expense of Alice’s father, Louis Dainard.  This immediately creates a rift between both Joe and his father. Joe mourns for his mother, constantly clutching a heart shaped locket.  Jack Lamb on the other hand is depressive and cold, with a strong focus on his work over quality time with his son. Count-less times throughout the film they try to discuss the incident but due to the circumstances at hand, neither have adequate time to communicate. Instead, Joe begins to bond with Alice, instead she being the more reciprocal in showing affection. This is realized in a truly tender scene where he applies zombie makeup onto her.

            Then we move onto the second half of the film. While the first half was a brilliant exercise in suspense and character study. It felt as if Abrams had successfully channeled the creative mind of a young Spielberg. However, things take a turn for the unrealistic and over the top. The Air Force becomes almost Nazi sequel in their take over the town, violently threatening Joe and his friends while incarcerated in a military bus. The actual threat itself was mishandled through a fault of in -minor spoiler- creature design, The main fault is that if you want to have a creature that is readily empathetic, it all comes down to the to the design.  It also doesn’t help that none of the characters get to interact all with the creature til the very end of the film. But to alleviate this shortcoming, Abrams shoehorns an iffy telepathy subplot that undercuts much of what could be dramatic tension during the film’s climax.

            Overall though, Super 8 is worth your matinee ticket if you are seeking for atypical summer feature this year. Not interested in seeing your favorite superhero get the big screen treatment, nor would you want to see Will Ferrell get evicted from his home, this movie is the one for you.