Super 8 is a movie that involves aliens and military cover-ups, but I believe the heart of the movie is about the magic of film. The plot follows a young group of filmmakers, including make-up artist Joe Lamb (Courtney), director Charles Kaznyk (Griffiths), and actress Alice Dainard (Fanning), after a train crash rocks the small town of Lillian. When the US Air Force comes to clean up the wreck, they keep local police in the dark as to the true nature of their cargo. When mysterious events start taking place in the town, sheriff Jackson Lamb (Chandler) steps up to the USAF to find out what exactly is going on.
A lot of reviews have compared this movie quite favorably to ET and "early Spielberg." It's true that there is a lot in common in both mood and plot--young heroes and innocent humor--but Super 8 brings a lot more to the table than just a well-done homage to its own producer. As the title suggests, the focus of Super 8 is the wonder of film. The kids are filmmakers, and they love the freedom and escape the fiction of cinema brings with it. But the most poignant, touching moment in the film is when Joe is watching an old film of his mom. Alice comes in and they just watch together, under its spell. You can tell as the silent film stock is bringing back memories and welling up emotion that no love letter or picture or locket could ever do. And in that instant you realize why this filmmaker--the kids in the movie and the real-life ones responsible for making this one--believe that the movies are magical.
But Super 8 is far from perfect. A number of the characters were flat, often feeling as if they were twisted around and manipulated to create the plot instead of true, fleshed-out individuals lost in the plot. Some of the dialogue just fell flat and sounded hollow. And the tension would occasionally drop off instead of constantly building up, but none of these negatives detract too heavily from the overall experience. This film was an absolute joy to watch. It reminded me why I go to the movies.
IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1650062/