Super 8

Super 8 (2011)

82% on Rotten Tomatoes (out of 254 reviews)

Runtime: 111 minutes

Directed by: J.J. Abrams

Starring: Elle Fanning, Kyle Chanler, Joel Courtney, Gabriel Basso

From: Paramount

Before I get to talking about this movie that I finally got around to seeing, let me mention something quick:

A few days ago I purchased a portable Blu-Ray player with some Christmas cash and a gift card I got for the day from Best Buy. The portable DVD player I had (which was from a relative who didn't need the old thing anymore) crapped out recently so instead of getting a new thing to just play DVD, I figured I would make it easier for me to watch Blu-Rays so I splurged and got that.

Now, onto this movie. I never got to see it on the big screen. I thought it could be interesteing but despite strong praise I never made the plunge until I rented the Blu-Ray yesterday. After all, might as well watch a film having at least some scary moments for this day, right?

I think what may have been turned me off was the marketing for it, which at first made it sound like a Cloverfield 2, and generally either confused people or angered people who bought into the hype for Cloverfield itself and while I enjoyed the film, I know that most of the marketing was garbage and meant nothing. Plus, the name always made me laugh and for the longest time I've called it The Motel 6 Movie. I know, they got the name from the Super 8 camera used back in the day, but c'mon now, when most people hear Super 8, guess what they think of? That's right, a low-buget hotel chain!

Now, onto the movie. By now you should know what the basic plot is: some young kids in late 70's Ohio make a zombie movie using a Super 8 camera. They film by a train station at night when suddenly a train derails and it just so happened to be carrying an alien, so it gets loose. Stuff happens, then the end.

Overall... what an overrated movie. I'm surprised it's gotten as much love as it has. Sure, the kids were all great and believable in their roles. None of them annoyed me, which is a big bonus. Elle Fanning did a great job with her role. She was the best part of the entire film. It was just fun watching those kids put in the effort to make their little short.

Problem is, there's the other stuff. Whether it be the drama stuff with some of the kids and their parents (it involves them not relating to the kids and all that eye-rolling crap) or stuff with the military or adults griping at each other, it's just tiresome. Then there's the alien, which you never get a clear bright look at. From what I saw it was nothing original or special. There are various aspects to the creature which I won't discuss as it's spoilers, but various aspects of the alien and whether or not you're supposed to feel sympathetic to it... it's just incredibly confused and like I said, aside from the stuff with the kids being kids and trying to make that movie, I thought this was more a miss than a hit. And I wish they would have been a little more subtle with their idea of making it clear that this movie took place in 1979. You see an overabundance of crap to remind you of this.

At least there is something I can compliment: during the end credits you actually get to see the short the kids made. That was pretty dope. Otherwise, though, I say this was disappointing to me. Attack the Block did a similar thing SO much better.

I'll be back Monday night with a new review.