Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Super 8






This is the first movie in a long time that I've taken the time to see on opening weekend.  Even my wife has been excited for this film to come out.  The ad campaign reminded us both of the awesome movies of our childhood, like E.T. and Goonies.  The trailer looked amazing, so we ventured out Sunday and saw it.

I wasn't disappointed in fact it was better than I thought it'd be.  The best trick J.J. Abrams was able to pull, was to hide a character movie about loss and redemption inside of a summer blockbuster.  Yes there's a train accident, something terrorizes the town, the army takes over to hide what's going on, but it's all somewhat of a macguffin.  The real story is about young kids coming of age under difficult circumstances, and I'm not talking about the monster, I'm talking about their parents.  These kids lack all of the prejudices and guilt that their fathers so desperately need to shed themselves.




It's also a love letter to the type of movies that Steven Spielberg brought us so long ago, which have now sadly been replaced with movies that rely too much on explosions, car chases, and paper thin characters.  This is a movie with real heart, and real emotion, and can only be seen as a breathe of fresh air in a time of comic book movies and sequels.

The only problem I had with the film, and it may just be me, is that I felt they showed too much of the monster.  I'd rather not have seen it directly, and I think it'd be more frightening to have the audience fill in the blanks and use their imaginations, which will always be more harrowing than a CGI representation of our greatest fears.

All in all, it was a touching and extremely enjoyable film.  I want to see it again, and encourage anyone that hasn't seen it yet to do themselves a favor and check it out.

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