We got a couple of early passes from a friend to see Super 8 a couple of days early. Here’s what it is (sort of, we’re keeping things spoiler-free), and how it went.
What It Is
Super 8 is the story of kids in a small town in Ohio that make movies. They each have a role in the movie, and each play a part behind the scenes: director, make-up artist, pyrotechnics. With each filming day that passes, their script grows, and more and more scenes are shot.
One such scene involves sneaking out at midnight, “borrowing” a car and heading down to an old railroad station. While at the station and the team is preparing to shoot a scene, a train approaches! The crew struggles to put their equipment together to shoot while the train is passing them. (Why? Production value!)
It’s during the filming of this scene where everything turns upside-down. A truck drives onto the tracks and derails the train. The kids drop everything to run for their lives. But in the midst of all of this running, their camera is still rolling, and what it captures is something they were never meant to see.
How It Went
Fun.
Steve told me going in that this essentially J.J. Abrams doing an impression of Steven Spielberg (note that Spielberg produced this film), and I think he’s right. It has scares, jokes, moments of despair and moments of triumph — all with a Spielberg-esque feel.
The characters are fun, funny and play a whole range of emotions. There’s devastation for young Joe (Joel Courtney), but there’s also my favorite thing in film: actors acting out being amateur actors. I’m not a huge movie buff, and honestly had no idea that Dakota Fanning even had a sister, but her name is Elle Fanning and she’s fantastic.
And the ending. The ending just felt right.
My One Gripe
The sound was too loud for my tastes, although maybe I’m just an old man; I don’t mind loud for impact or for surprise, but prolonged train derailments had me with my hands over my ears. This may not have been the movie’s fault, it may have just been the theater. Or, you know, my ears are old-man ears.
Final Recommendation
Worth checking out. I entered with mixed emotions, wondering what the big mystery was going to be (although, my suspicions were pretty close) and was surprised by the premise. It worked and it was well executed.
Block off a couple hours this weekend and take a look. I can’t imagine that you’d be disappointed.
Oh, and if you’re an iPhone 3GS/4 user, pick up the official Super 8 app. It’s free, and it lets you make little films of your own. It’s got a great interface and it’s super easy to use. Take a look at a quick test film I made a couple weeks ago.
