Movie Review #22: Super 8 (2011)

Let me start off by saying that  I apologize for not being able to post a review yesterday. I was going to re-watch Batman Begins and write up a review but I had to write an essay and I didn't have enough time to do all three things. I'm sure you guys will understand.

After reviewing Star Trek, it made me want to review J.J. Abrams TV shows and other movies. So why not start with this one?

Super 8 is the story of a group of kids in 1979 that witness a spectacular train crash and from then on strange events occur in their town. I went into this movie not expecting much. I went into this expecting an alien invasion movie. I got that and then some. Now the main characters are a group of kids and we all know that kid actors are usually either bad actors or obnoxious 75% of the time. The Phantom Menace has proved that for us. As it turns out, the kids were pretty cool kids. Granted they weren't as cool as the Goonies, but if I were two years younger I would totally hang out with them. There's this one kid that was particularly funny. He reminded me of Freddy from School of Rock if Freddy had the teeth of Gary Busey.

The story turned out to be a lot more in depth than I though it would be. You start out confused, but by the end everything made sense for the most part. Like how a good sci-fi thriller should be! The visuals are also great. The train crash is easily the most spectacular and breathtaking part of the film but it slightly hurt the film in a sense. The crash happens early on in the movie, like within the first 30 minutes or less. When the most visually striking part is so early on, the ending feels more or less like a letdown because nothing else surpassed the awesomeness of the train wreck. Yes the end is more thrilling than the crash but it doesn't come close to the visual splendor of the crash.

Final Report: Super 8 is an exciting film with enough thrills, chills and humor to please the inner kid within us all.