In many people’s eyes, J.J. Abrams, co-creator of the epically popular “Lost” series, can do no wrong. I’ve never seen “Lost,” but I knew enough about Abrams to be excited by “Super 8.” Add producer Steven Spielberg to the project, and you have a guaranteed blockbuster.
And blockbuster it is, raking in $35 million its opening weekend. And yet the movie itself suffers a bit from all the hype. I went in expecting revolutionary. What I got was “E.T.” meets “Stand By Me.”
Everything about the film felt like something we’ve seen before: the carefree boys causing trouble; the beautiful girl from the wrong side of the tracks; the big dreams and inevitable disaster.
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Abrams set his story in a small West Virginia town in 1979. That alone gives the film that nostalgic glow we’ve come to associate with the coming-of-age films of the '70s and '80s with which we’re so familiar. At the top of the story, we meet Joe Lamb, a 13-year-old boy whose mother has just died in a steel mill accident. Joe’s father, Jackson, is a deputy in town, which we know will factor in the plot.
A few months later, Joe’s friends, a lovable cadre of doofy boys, are deep into filming a zombie film, when they are joined by Alice (played by Elle Fanning, little sis to Dakota), an ethereal blonde with a rebellious streak. The kids are at the tracks late one night, shooting a little super-8 footage, when a train collides with a pick-up truck, creating a massive explosion and sending curious, white cubes shooting in every direction. What are those cubes? Why did their teacher drive himself onto the tracks? And where did everyone’s dogs go?
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What unfurls is a science fiction mystery/thriller with humor, heart and intrigue. It’s solid. It’s just not amazing.
For me, the film would have been far less captivating if it weren’t for its young co-stars, Fanning and Joel Courtney (Joe). Abrams’ script demanded a lot from both, scripting scenes of heartache and loss. Fanning and Courtney manage to capture those two very complicated emotions with depth and subtlety, and watching the two interact is a highlight of the entire piece.
You hear that J.J.? More honest, heartfelt writing. Less predictable alien subplots. Thanks.
