Super 8 (2011)
Certified: 12
Duration: 111 minutes
Directed by: J.J. Abrams
Starring: Joel Courtney, Elle Fanning, Kyle Chandler, Ron Eldard, Noah Emmerich, Bruce Greenwood, David Gallagher, Riley Griffiths, Michael Hitchcock
KRS release

Super 8 sees J.J. Abrams, the man behind the successful series Lost and the successful revitalisation of the Star Trek franchise, in really fine mode. Super 8 is a surprising mix of nostalgia and genuine awe.

Mr Abrams has always made it clear that he loves Steven Spielberg’s movies. This is very much in evidence here. With a splattering of Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), E. T. The Extra-terrestrial (1982) and an overall Spielberg feel, Mr Abrams has delivered the Stand By Me (1986) and The Goonies (1985) for a new generation. Mr Spielberg himself is at hand on production duties here.

In 1979 Joe Lamb (Joel Courtney) is about to get the ride of his life. It has not been a good year for him. His mother has recently died in an accident and his rapport with his dad Jack (Kyle Chandler), who is the town’s deputy sheriff, has become strained. His only relief is working on the zombie film that his friend Charles (Riley Griffiths) is directing.

The rest of the gang is made up of: Cary (Ryan Lee), who is the cameraman and cherry bomb fan; Martin (Gabriel Basso), who is the main actor; Preston (Zach Mills),who has landed the supporting role; and the latest addition, Alice Dainard (Elle Fanning). The girl is having trouble with her dad Louis (Ron Eldrad) who is an alcoholic and does not want her around Joe.

Disobeying the adults, the group sneaks out at night to shoot a scene at the train station. There they see their biology teacher Dr Woodward (Glynn Turman) driving a truck into a train in what is an incredibly devastating crash. The teacher warns them not to tell anyone of this or the US military forces, which are coming to town because of the crash, could easily shoot them and their parents.

Soon strange occurrences start happening: All the dogs run away, the sheriff goes missing and vandalism becomes rampant. The military led by Col. Nelec (Noah Emmerich) is not making matters any easier. Meanwhile, the group tries to find out what is happening and at the same time complete their film using the weird happenings, the military and the town under siege as backdrops to their film.

The film has a tangible Steven Spielberg and Stephen King feel: It oozes nostalgia for that past time when small town life was everything a boy could possibly want; when riding bikes, making new friendships and engaging in adventures were all part of everyday life. This was a time when kids could be kids. Super 8 catches that feel beautifully and couples it with a quintessential sense of amazement that makes the film such a great watch.

As regards the way he brings the monster to the audience, Mr Abrams sticks to strict monster movie rules: the less seen, the better. So he tantalises his audience all along, letting us see bits of the creature here and there. The action itself is well directed and the monster elicits a mix of both sympathy and fear. The less said about motives here, the better so as not to reveal any spoilers.

The young cast that Mr Abrams has brought together is really superb. Joel Courtney, who by the end of the film goes through quite an emotional development, delivers a strong performance. The kids are all believable, giving the film an added dimension that many other sci-fi pictures usually seem to lack.

I am thankful that Mr Abrams has made it quite an obvious choice to provide homage to the early Spielberg classic movies. However, Super 8 leaps beyond being just an homage as it develops a character of its own. The film is definitely one of the best pictures this summer.