‘Super 8’

Director: J.J. Abrams

Starring: Joel Courtney, Elle Fanning, Kyle Chandler, Noah Emmerich

4.5/5 Popcorns

There’s one thing director J.J. Abrams seems to love more than anything: monsters. With the fascinating, terrifying creatures in ‘Lost,’ ‘Star Trek’ (2009) and ‘Cloverfield’ (2008), which Abrams produced, the young sci-fi icon has consistently shown an affinity for monsters, even saying in a 2007 Comic-Con interview that America needs its own Godzilla. And he has stepped up to the plate with his enchanting new monster movie, ‘Super 8.’

A heartwarming homage to Steven Spielberg, one of Abrams’ idols and executive producers, ‘Super 8’ draws inspiration from the veteran director’s early, child-friendly works, ‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind’ (1977), ‘E.T.’ (1982) and ‘The Goonies’ (1985). But Abrams sets his work apart from those timeless classics through his trademark use of lens flares, refractions of light (often blue) that softly cut across the frame, imbuing it with a somewhat surreal, self-conscious quality, and unique storytelling.

After losing his mother in an accident at the local factory, 13-year-old Joe Lamb (Joel Courtney) takes solace in participating in his friend Charles’ ambitious little zombie movie. Charles somehow convinces one of the most popular girls in school, Alice (Elle Fanning), to not only act in the film, but also to drive them late one night to film a scene by the train tracks. Joe is immediately enamored with her, but the shoot doesn’t exactly go according to plan, as a tremendous, violent train wreck alongside the set nearly kills them all.

When nearly every dog in Joe’s small town of Lillian, Ohio, runs away and the military rolls in, the citizens of Lillian, especially Joe’s dad, Sheriff Jackson Lamb (Kyle Chandler), become very suspicious. The kids’ curiosity about the cause of the havoc increases. When they watch their footage of the accident, they are shocked to see a monster escaping from one of the train cars. Soon enough, the military is right on their tail and Joe’s dad tries to protect them from what the military wants nobody to see.

‘Super 8’ is defined not by its action sequences, but by the riveting heroics of a group of determined kids, rich emotion, expert pacing and the characterization of a potentially misunderstood extraterrestrial.

The film boasts some of the most extraordinary work from young actors, some of whom had never been on screen before and who we are likely to see in major Hollywood movies in the coming years. In his first film role, Joel Courtney is terrific as Joe, whose bravery and assertiveness is perpetually underestimated. The jewel of the film, however, is Elle Fanning, whose performance is so beyond her years that the viewer can only marvel at her maturity and natural poise. Fellow early adolescents Riley Griffiths, Zach Mills, Gabriel Basso and Ryan Lee round out the superb supporting cast.           

The film’s brilliance is owed to the children, but that’s as much Abrams’ accomplishment as it is the young actors themselves. With ‘Super 8,’ Abrams demonstrates that he’s not just a good writer or master of action choreography. He is also a wise storyteller who can glean great performances from young actors and stir emotion in audiences who may consider ‘Toy Story 3’ (2010) as the only summer movie that made them feel something. The Spielbergian orchestra-dominated ending might be a bit much, but with the onslaught of Hollywood movies with the same tired characters and recycled plot lines, couldn’t we use some of that old, sappy magic? 

smlittma@syr.edu

Published on June 21, 2011 at 12:00 pm