THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
There are few movies I've seen that became an experience for me. When they become that, it makes me appreciate them more than ever. The most definitive example in my perspective is Super 8.
PLOT
The film takes place in a fictional 1979. Joseph Lamb is mourning over the death of his mother Elizabeth who died in a workplace accident, covering the shift of Louis Dainard who was drunk. Deputy Officer Jack also grieves for the death of his wife and while he must prepare to step in for his son, he is unable to forgive Louis. Forwarding to the summer of the said year, Joe is helping his friend Charles finish a short film for a film festival. Charles is the director and Joe helps out with the make up and boom mic. Their other friends, Martin, Cary and Preston are actors for the film. They plan to shoot a scene near a train depot during midnight for 'production value'. He is also able to cast Alice Dainard, Louis' daughter. She drives her father's car to get to the depot but as they shoot the scene, a pickup truck crashes into the train which Joe notices in time for them to escape the wreckage. No one is severely injured but something escapes one of the cars. As everyone regroups, they find their teacher Dr. Woodward (Glynn Turman) was the one who drove into the train. Before being chased away by others approaching the wreckage, the kids are told by Woodward to not speak of what happened or they and their families will be killed for it. As they leave, Alice picks up one white cube out of many that were on the floor and gives it to Joe. The following day, the group decides to continue shooting the film but choose to shoot the wreckage. With Charles' camera broken due to the crash, Joe borrows his dad's camera. He does convince Alice to shoot more scenes only due to how she wants to avoid her drunk father. When shooting, Joe notices Air Force insignia, making him curious why Woodward did what he did. Meanwhile, Jack attempts to investigate the wreckage but is unable to when General Nelec refuses to give him answers such as what is his cargo. The town suffers a crisis due to a power outage and Sheriff Pruitt (Brett Rice) had gone missing. There are even multiple reports of missing people, dogs and electrical equipment. Nelec even enters the town and refuses to explain his presence, although it is shown that he is raiding Woodward's house, looking for information he could be hiding. During a town council meeting, Jack is told by a townsman that he overheard a transmission through a radio frequency. When looking into it, he hears the reference, 'Operation: Walking Distance'. He is able to blackmail Nelec in order to get his answers. But before he has this planned meeting, he tries to ban Joe from visiting Alice due to his continued dislike of Louis. When attempting to visit Nelec at a military base, he is arrested instead. As that happens, the general has Woodburn killed for not revealing the whereabouts of the figure that escaped the train wreck. At night, Alice visits Joe and talks about how her dad regrets of what happened to Elizabeth. They even see the cube vibrate and shoot through the wall. When she runs away from home, Louis chases her by car but he crashes into one when catching up to her. As he gets out of his own wreckage, his daughter is taken by the figure. Nelec even orders wildfire in order for the town to be evacuated. The following morning, Joe and Charles argue. Charles is jealous of the tension Joe and Alice because he has a crush on her too. They put that aside after noticing in the film that the figure to be some kind of creature as it breaks out of the car. Just as they see this, they evacuate with the rest of the town due to the fire. At the local military base, Joe attempts to look for his dad but finds Louis instead who tells him that the creature took Alice. This inspires him to go back to town to find her and convinces his friends to come with him. With the aid of Charles' sister Jen (AJ Michalka), they convince the camera store owner Donny to be their driver. They head to the school and find belongings from Woodward's bus. They look over it in the school and discover his intent. Through recorded tapes and films of his own, they discover that the creature came from space in 1958, confirming it to be extraterrestrial. When Woodward made physical contact with it, he realized that it only wants to go home but Nelec wanted to keep it for military research. The creature only grew hostile when hostility was directed towards it. Just as they discover this, they are arrested by Nelec. They eventually escape when the alien attacks the bus they were transported in. As they avoid the conflict, it kills Nelec along with other military officers. Joe escapes his confinement and overhears that Joe got made. He discovers his son's perspective of what he's transpired when Preston, who stayed behind, shows him the film of the crash. After seeing this, he takes Louis with him to find their kids. During their drive, Louis finally apologizes for what happened to Elizabeth; Jack forgives him, accepting that it was an accident. When the kids head back to town, they see that a war zone has occurred due to the military fighting off the alien. Martin gets injured and as Charles tends to his wounds, Joe and Cary go to the cemetery where the creature could be hiding. At the cemetery, they find a tunnel that takes them all the way to the water tower. Besides the stolen town supplies, they see abducted people such as Sheriff Pruitt and Alice. Cary sets off his fireworks to distract the alien as Joe wakes up Alice and the Sheriff. The Sheriff is quickly killed by the alien as it catches up. When it corners the kids, Joe confronts it and tells it 'I know bad things happen, but you can still live'. Sensing him to be not hostile, the creature spares him. As they escape the tunnel, they return to town and discover that metallic objects including the cubes are forming around the water tower. As they look in awe, Joe and Alice reunite and reconcile with their fathers. Joe lets go of his locket due to it being magnetized to the water tower as well. The tower forms into a new ship for the alien. After we see it leave, the film officially ends after seeing Charles' film The Case which was about a zombie apocalypse.
THOUGHTS
After seeing this movie in theaters back in 2011, I was thinking to myself, 'Maybe this is what I want to do for the rest of my life, I want to make movies'. This proves the impact the movie has over me, inspiring me to begin my path on wanting to become a filmmaker. What Writer/Director JJ Abrams did with this movie is that he created his love letter to the science fiction genre while also creating a story that can get personal as he is giving a portrayal of youth and acceptance. While his contribution to franchises such as Mission: Impossible, Star Trek and Star Wars are landmarks in Hollywood due to their pop culture status, Super 8 easily stands out for being the most original of his filmography which felt rare in the summer season. Although he reflects his inspiration of (producer) Steven Spielberg's films, this film truly felt unpredictable in first viewing. Despite seeing the alien being violent, I wouldn't expect it to peacefully leave like ET The Extra Terrestrial, nor was I sure how things would occur between these characters. And that is what going to the movies is all about, expecting the unexpected, seeing something you have never seen before. Michael Giacchino gives his best score in this movie besides Up because for some reason, the music he created here gives this feeling that you’re part of this story, this adventure. Since this is a sci-fi film, the visuals have been aging very well. The prime example goes to alien credited as Cooper. Believe it or not, the named creature was played by actor Bruce Greenwood via motion capture. I love motion capture acting because you don't see the actors, you see only the characters they're playing and it's no different here. When it opens it eyes when looking at Joe, you just feel the innocence and vulnerability it’s giving the boy due to being non hostile. The fact that you feel that while Greenwood doesn’t say a word is phenomenal. Even though I love this movie with all my heart, a great movie like this still has a few flaws. The train crash is stunning to witness and while it’s a miracle that the kids didn’t die but it’s a massive coincidence that Louis’ car didn’t suffer any damage until he crashes it himself. It is pretty funny how the kids shoot their movie outside of Woodward’s house where it’s being raided by Nelec but it is shocking how he noticed them and didn’t do anything after Jack showed up again. If he didn’t appear, things would’ve gotten sour for them. It felt pretty intense when the cube was first shown shaking. I can buy it that Joe never noticed it shaking until Alice noticed it first but I am surprised that Jack never noticed it being one of the exact cubes from the train wreck. The alien Cooper was able to be quiet when abducting the sheriff because the gas station was almost isolated. So when abducting Alice, how the hell does no one hear the ruckus, which is the car crash or either Alice or Louis screaming? That confuses me. What is even more confusing is why officer Overmyer (Richard T Jones) steals Joe’s locket from him. That thing wasn’t dangerous like a blade or a bullet, this was just plain unnecessary conflict. I know Joe gets it back and eventually lets it go but again, it was just out of place for me. But once you ignore all of this, you will still be appreciating this movie for what it is. Going back to the cast, they were truly the best thing about this movie. The best example goes to all of the children their chemistry, the bickering and the laughs they share, it is so genuine you feel how close they are. We don’t see Zach Mills a lot in comparison to the other kids but he made me laugh a lot as Preston due to how he is clearly the most nervous of the group and he is great at reflecting that aspect. Gabriel Basso was great with Martin because of the irony with his fake role as the brave Detective John in The Case but in real life, he’s not the brightest. Ryan Lee is also hilarious as Cary because I’ve never seen anyone so enthusiastic with fireworks as much as him. When he smiles as he apologizes to Charles of his usage of fireworks on set will always tickle my funny bone. Speaking of Charles, I thought Riley Griffiths was great as well with the aspiring filmmaker. Based on his own teenage angst, the kid has his mind set on what he visions for his film. And while he is jealous on how he doesn’t get with Alice, it thankfully doesn’t ruin his friendship with Joe doesn’t end as more serious things become afloat. The lead character Joe Lamb shines such a bright star. Joel Courtney was on point expressing his grief, joy and intelligence. This journey shockingly became his path of acceptance and when he let go of his locket, he was obviously getting over his mother’s death. Getting over the death of a loved one is the biggest challenge for one to ever do and I think this scene helps people in doing so. Our leading lady, Alice shines as well thanks to Elle Fanning’s range. She is sensitive and observant, but reserved due to the difficult relationship with her father. The fact that she channeled it into her performance for The Case is incredible, proving the layers Fanning can provide for a role. As for the adults, Kyle Chandler is the best of the bunch with the role of Jack Lamb. He is reflecting the grief and pressure he is going through. The biggest challenge wasn’t being an officer, it was being a father because he never understood him yet somehow, he finally was able to do so when the alien left. When he accepts Louis’ apology, you just see how difficult it was for him to say because he never thought he’d ever do it. Noah Emmerich isn’t there a lot but I thought he was pretty intimidating in his given time as Nelec. And as for Ron Eldard, he definitely owned the broken man persona with Louis. Every look he gave to the characters around him, you just knew he had so much going on and he is still battling his own demons. And lastly, David Gallagher will never stop making me laugh as Donny. The side story of him crushing over Charles' sister and got high during the third act will never stop making me laugh. To wrap up, Super 8 is a great film and deserves more recognition for what it is. If you are an aspiring filmmaker, this will suit you perfectly.
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