Super 8 was a film that I’ve been looking forward to for a while now, since last year in fact when I first heard about it. The reason I was looking forward to it is because of J. J. Abrams (Director of Star Trek (2009) and creator of LOST) being the director. I’m happy to say that the film exceeded all expectations.
The film’s set in the late 70s (1979 to be exact) and follows a group of kids trying to make a monster film (using super 8 mm film, hence the film title Super 8) for entry into a contest. One night, when filming near the rail tracks they witness something they didn’t expect to see. An enormous train crash. One of the kids, Joe Lamb (Joel Courtney) heard something from one of the overturned carriages, as if something was trying to get out. Then the noise stopped. The train was discovered to belong to the United States Air Force. Soon after unusual disappearances of both pets and people seemed to occur and the military was reluctant to say what really was going on. Deputy Jackson Lamb (Kyle Chandler), father of Joe Lamb is left to try and uncover the truth. Turns out the truth is something more terrifying than anyone originally thought.
Pretty much all of the actors, both kids and adult ones are mostly unheard of or haven’t done much before, at least I’ve never seen any of them, but they all played their own parts superbly. This is especially true for the kids. It truly felt like they were just a real bunch of friends genuinely trying to make a monster film but instead ended up in the middle of the most crazy event to ever hit their town (of about 12000 people).
The film itself doesn’t do much new but clearly combines elements from both J. J. Abrams and Spielberg. There are parts that remind us of Cloverfield and other parts that remind us of various Spielberg films. This isn’t a bad thing, in fact I think it’s brilliant! The film is just classic fun. I love the style of the film as well, the fact it felt and seemed old. In addition to this it also seemed surprisingly plausible. I also thought that the way they portrayed the monster in the film was good, I’m not going to tell you what it looks like, but it’s good. It just works.
Cinemas were made for films like this, the train crash scene alone is mind blowing. It looks so good but then the sound with it just feels like nothing I’ve heard recently. The bass was thumping and the entire room was filled with sounds from all directions. Just amazing to experience. The film was just a lot of fun, really exciting and something I think I could easily watch over and over again. At 112 minutes it’s not too long and not too short, it’s perfect.
There isn’t anything I find wrong with this film, some people I know didn’t like it much, others thought that it was too similar to other films. I think it’s brilliant, it combines traits from other films in a way that just makes you love it. It’s my favourite and in my opinion the best film I’ve seen at the cinema so far this year. I just fell in love with it. Definitely recommended and I cannot wait for the blu-ray release.
5/5
