I went into Super 8 with a bit of reluctance. I normally don’t like movies that focus on kids and it seemed like it might be a bit similar to E.T. Luckily, it was not. In fact, Super 8 is a scary movie. It was the scariest movie I’ve seen in theaters since The Strangers. But it was also a very well-made movie. The effects, from the massive train crash to our runaway creature, were superb. The acting was also great especially from the youngsters. Super 8 had a level of suspense that many movies don’t have nowadays. There was a lot of action, but you never really knew what was going to come next as the story unraveled. Although it started out a little slow, the last hour was compelling and exciting.
I would have like to see Kyle Chandler a little more because he’s so fantastic on Friday Night Lights but the stars of Super 8 really were the kids. If anything, their camaraderie and adventure reminded me of The Goonies, only, you know, with an alien instead of One-Eyed Willie. The ending was a little abrupt and fell into place too easily, but other than that it was a very good movie. Super 8 was a pleasant surprise and hopefully there will be more films like it in the future instead of the current bunch of comic book crap coming out this summer.
2.5 shots out of 4
Rainman Suite 