Set in 1979, Super 8 is the story of a group of school kids looking to make a movie with the maximum amount of production value they can possibly capitalise on along the way. When they go to film a touching scene that involves a 'detective' saying goodbye to his 'wife' on a quiet station platform just after midnight and a train just happens to be speeding past, they quickly decide to make the most of it.
The camera rolls, lines are yelled to compete with the roaring locomotive, and then, just as their director is about to yell "Cut! That was mint!" the train derails, and they're forced to drop everything and run for their young lives.
There are huge explosions, suspicious circumstances, funny white cubes everywhere (which I think the props department stole from the set of Source Code), and curiously there are US Army markings on each of the train's carriages.
Sworn to secrecy about the mysterious incident they not only watched happen, but inadvertently filmed, they take it upon themselves to investigate.
And almost as quickly as you can say "My Sharona!" the whole town starts to be subjected to the fate of so many movie small towns, as more and more suspicious things begin to happen. People are reporting car engines missing, microwaves stolen, generators gone and bizarrely, all the dogs seem to have run away.
So... what was on that train? What's out there making all this commotion?
What indeed.
Directed by J.J. Abrams and executive produced by Steven Spielberg this sci-fi movie of course looks good. It's well acted by a predominantly young cast and has moments of real appeal, but regrettably, it never quite gets there. And, unfortunately, it becomes overwhelmingly readable.
We met Joe, played superbly by newcomer Joel Courtney, just as summer is about to start, and not long after the death of his mother whom he loved very much. It's now just him and his father Deputy Lamb, played by Kyle Chandler, and they're both trying to make do as best they can without actually acknowledging that there is a great big hole in the family unit. The Deputy is clearly out of his parental depth, and poor Joe can't seem to go anywhere without his mother's locket clasped firmly in hand.
But summer's around the corner! And he has an entire Super 8 film to work on with his best buddies, which should keep him out of trouble, right? Well, clearly, wrong. But if nothing else, it sure will force him and his father to start tackling some of those emotions they've tucked away!
Which is unfortunately where things become a bit predictable.
Super 8 is still fun, and often funny too. It's also entertaining, and sometimes even a little startling, and although it has been billed as a "Stand By Me meets ET" it doesn't actually hold a candle to the feelings either of those two movies summon. Without a doubt the subject matter is strikingly similar - a mismatched bunch of friends on a coming-of-age journey, and an alien-type creature trying to evade the US Army - it just doesn't quite get to that next level.
Nonetheless, Super 8 does have a lot of positives. The '70s aesthetic and soundtrack employed are perfect, the way the scenes are shot is slick, the explosions are big, Chandler and co-star Elle Fanning are great and there's a nice bit of characterisation developed between them in some of the early scenes. Like I said, it looks good! Sadly though it's the storyline that goes amiss; Super 8's failing is that it takes on too much and attempts to resolve it all in a neat little, poignant package.
Be sure to stay back and watch the end credits though.
- Three stars
The camera rolls, lines are yelled to compete with the roaring locomotive, and then, just as their director is about to yell "Cut! That was mint!" the train derails, and they're forced to drop everything and run for their young lives.
There are huge explosions, suspicious circumstances, funny white cubes everywhere (which I think the props department stole from the set of Source Code), and curiously there are US Army markings on each of the train's carriages.
Sworn to secrecy about the mysterious incident they not only watched happen, but inadvertently filmed, they take it upon themselves to investigate.
And almost as quickly as you can say "My Sharona!" the whole town starts to be subjected to the fate of so many movie small towns, as more and more suspicious things begin to happen. People are reporting car engines missing, microwaves stolen, generators gone and bizarrely, all the dogs seem to have run away.
So... what was on that train? What's out there making all this commotion?
What indeed.
Directed by J.J. Abrams and executive produced by Steven Spielberg this sci-fi movie of course looks good. It's well acted by a predominantly young cast and has moments of real appeal, but regrettably, it never quite gets there. And, unfortunately, it becomes overwhelmingly readable.
We met Joe, played superbly by newcomer Joel Courtney, just as summer is about to start, and not long after the death of his mother whom he loved very much. It's now just him and his father Deputy Lamb, played by Kyle Chandler, and they're both trying to make do as best they can without actually acknowledging that there is a great big hole in the family unit. The Deputy is clearly out of his parental depth, and poor Joe can't seem to go anywhere without his mother's locket clasped firmly in hand.
But summer's around the corner! And he has an entire Super 8 film to work on with his best buddies, which should keep him out of trouble, right? Well, clearly, wrong. But if nothing else, it sure will force him and his father to start tackling some of those emotions they've tucked away!
Which is unfortunately where things become a bit predictable.
Super 8 is still fun, and often funny too. It's also entertaining, and sometimes even a little startling, and although it has been billed as a "Stand By Me meets ET" it doesn't actually hold a candle to the feelings either of those two movies summon. Without a doubt the subject matter is strikingly similar - a mismatched bunch of friends on a coming-of-age journey, and an alien-type creature trying to evade the US Army - it just doesn't quite get to that next level.
Nonetheless, Super 8 does have a lot of positives. The '70s aesthetic and soundtrack employed are perfect, the way the scenes are shot is slick, the explosions are big, Chandler and co-star Elle Fanning are great and there's a nice bit of characterisation developed between them in some of the early scenes. Like I said, it looks good! Sadly though it's the storyline that goes amiss; Super 8's failing is that it takes on too much and attempts to resolve it all in a neat little, poignant package.
Be sure to stay back and watch the end credits though.
- Three stars
Source: The Vine
No comments:
Post a Comment