Movie Review: Super 8

On Friday I went to check out the film Super 8 with my youngest daughter and some friends. The early trailers for the film didn't do much for me, but when I saw the first full trailer, and realized that this movie was going to be an homage to personal favourite films of my own including E.T. and Close Encounters of the Third Kind, it quickly moved up my list of must-see films.

Set in 1979 in a town called Lillian, Ohio, the film follows a thirteen-year-old boy named Joe Lamb, who, with a number of friends is hard at work on a film they are making for an upcoming contest. The film follows this young group of friends through the making of their film which is interrupted by a train wreck which releases some thing into the area.

Overall I enjoyed the film, but much like the videogame Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, it felt almost like two seperate stories spliced in the middle. What begins as something sort of like E.T. very quickly begins to move in a different direction.

I was very impressed by the special effects and the acting on behalf of the kids - the three main kids: Joel Courtney, Riley Griffiths, and Elle Fanning all brought a great sense of fun and realism to the film that I found wonderful and refreshing.

The film does have a more than a few plot-holes, but is totally worth the watch and if you can, it does deserve a big screen viewing.