Plot: I can't tell the story without a SPOILER, so you probably want to skip this section if you have not seen the movie.
Back in 1979, 14 year olds Joe (Joel Courtney) and his friend Charles (Riley Griffiths) are making a zombie movie on Super 8 film. They recruit their friends, and invite their classmate Alice (Elle Fanning) to help too. As they are filming, there is a train crash, and something escapes from the train. The air force troops in to hide the incident, while the kids try to figure out what happened and also try to finish their movie. Joe's father hates Alice's father, and Romeo and Juliet style Joe falls for Alice.
Review: Super 8 is fun to watch, and that is why I liked this movie. The kids are crowd pleasers, and the suspenseful story kept me tuned in. The moving making premise keeps the characters running around, while the monster/air force story develops in the background, rather like the TV show Lost.
I liked all the kid's performances, but Joel Courtney is great and Elle Fanning deserves a supporting actress nomination. The rehearsal at the rail station should be required in acting school.
The directing is playful and suspenseful; the story is well-crafted to reveal plot changes gradually so they seem more to fit. At the end this is a monster movie, so it is going to be a little far fetched at the end. There is some humor and some good special effects. I can forgive the slightly sappy ending.
The movie is a lot like Lost meets ET.
Cast: Joel Courtney, Elle Fanning
Written and directed by: J.J Abrams, who also made the TV series Lost. The film was produced by Steven Spielberg, and the film feels a lot like ET.
Rating: 3.5 stars;
More: Stay for the Super 8 movie shown during the credits.
Even More: This film could be a classic.
Yet More: Super 8 needs better marketing, the trailer and poster just look dull. The film is better than its advertising.
