Super 8 | Directed by J.J. Abrams
J.J. Abrams new film Super 8 is a throwback to the blockbuster summer fare Steven Spielberg used to make, and it’s not just because the movie is set in the late Seventies, features a bunch of kids, and Spielberg serves as producer. No, it evokes favorable Spielberg comparisons because it tells a compelling story with a generous mix of humor, thrills and heart. There are plenty of special effects, but, like Spielberg’s best work, they’re not the centerpiece but contextual and employed to amp up the action and deliver a few moments of awe. At it’s core, Super 8 is exciting family entertainment.
Much of Spielberg’s work is alluded to here, most obviously E.T. and Close Encounters. But it also recalls the small town paranoia of Jaws, elicits a few Poltergeist-like scares, and features the kind of dysfunctional family dynamics present in all of Spielberg’s early films. Oh, and there’s more than a little Goonies in the core group of children who lead the action (all of whom deliver solid performances, free of precociousness or pretension).
Abrams’ movie is not the equal of E.T., Jaws or Close Encounters; few films are. But it’s a fun and welcome diversion in this age of the prepackaged blockbuster. It has many flaws (it kind of falls apart at the end), but they’re ultimately forgivable because it takes you on a heartfelt, suspense-filled ride.
All right. Enough of that. I’ve got the urge to spin some ELO. I think I’ll start with Fire on High.
Update: A quick look at Rotten Tomatoes reveals Super 8 has received mostly positive reviews. The few detractors all seem to share a common theme: that Abrams’ film is less an homage to Spielberg and more a poor facsimile with little originality of its own. This is true to a degree but greatly misses the point. The audience for this film did not grow up with Spielberg’s films. It’s a new generation, one whose experience with the summer blockbuster has consisted almost entirely of kinetic comic book adaptations, disaster porn, and movies based on toys and rides. That Super 8 is derivative is immaterial. What’s important is that it introduces a new audience to a different kind of blockbuster, the sort that inspired the concept of the summer movie in the first place and had not yet been spoiled by the idea that these sorts of movies need be pre-sold and based on existing material with built-in fan bases.
