A Super Movie

"Super 8" is THE must see film of the summer.  Yeah, I really liked "Thor" and I think the finale to "Harry Potter" is going to be great, but even I'll admit that those movies aren't for everybody.  "Super 8" is for everyone over the age of 15...I say 15 because there is some language. 

Directed by J.J. Abrams and produced by Steven Spielberg, "Super 8" is a nod to Spielberg's sci-fi films of the late 70's and early 80's, but made relevant to today's audience by J.J. Abrams.  This movie is really a combination of "E.T.", "Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind", "Goonies" and "Star Trek" (the new one).

The first thing you have to realize is that "Super 8" isn't about the alien that escapes during a train crash.  "Super 8" is a story about the 6 kids who witness the train crash and film the alien escape on their Super 8 brand film.  It's sort of a coming of age story about friendship and moving on after tragedy.  The 2 main kids are Joe Lamb (played by Joel Courtney) and Alice Dainard (played by Elle Fanning).  The other kids are important to the story, but the movie really focuses on Joe and Alice, who we find out are somewhat bonded by the tragedy that killed Joe's mother.  Both of these actors do a great job, especially Elle Fanning.  The Fanning kids can act.

After the alien escape, mysterious things start happening around town, and the Air Force shows up to "help".  The 6 kids continue to try to make their movie, despite the mysterious happenings, while Joe's father, Deputy Jack Lamb (played by Kyle Chandler), tries to get a handle on the things going on in their small town.  Meanwhile, Jack and Joe struggle without Joe's mother, and their relationship is a secondary story line throughout.  Everything builds to a great crescendo and really cool final scene.  Oh, and the credits are worth sticking around for too.

I laughed a lot, jumped a few times, and was reminded of how good a movie can be by "Super 8".  This is a 5 star movie and definitely worth the $9.25 I paid to see it.  I'm so glad the coworker told me that this movie was worth seeing, and I hope you'll get out there and see it too.