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Director J. J. Abrams is a master of hype. He seems to be well aware that the best way to get people to take note of an upcoming movie is to tell them next to nothing about it. Offer just a glimpse—just a hint or two—and they’ll work themselves into a frenzy. The closely-guarded secrecy worked pretty well for a little Abrams-produced movie called Cloverfield. And it’s definitely worked for Super 8, the director’s collaboration with producer Steven Spielberg. Ever since the project was announced—with the filmmakers keeping a tight lid on the details—eager movie lovers have been gearing up for something big, something bold, something…mysterious.
Fortunately, the finished product is pretty much everything that you’ve been expecting.
Super 8 tells the story of a group of aspiring young filmmakers who sneak out of their homes to film one night during the summer of 1979 and end up witnessing a massive train crash. The man responsible is their teacher, Dr. Woodward (Glynn Turman), who urges them not to let anyone know what they saw. Fearing that his warnings are true—that, if they mention the crash, they and their families will be murdered—they race away from the scene just in time.
After the crash, though, things in their small Ohio town start to get really strange. The Air Force takes over the crash site, and people (and dogs) start to go missing. As the kids nervously continue making their movie, Deputy Jackson Lamb (Kyle Chandler) goes looking for answers.
Super 8 definitely has—as young director Charles (Riley Griffiths) would say—“production value.” As expected, Abrams’s effects are nothing short of mind-blowing. In fact, the massive train crash alone is worth the price of admission.
On top of the thrilling effects, though, it also has the right tone—a consistently ominous feeling that will keep you from getting too comfortable in your seat. And, with something dark and mysterious always on the prowl, Abrams shows that he can (and will) make you jump right out of your seat whenever he feels like it.
But perhaps the best thing about Super 8 is that—despite the cutting-edge CGI—it still has that classic Spielberg feel, reminiscent of some of your old favorites. Think of it as Cloverfield meets The Goonies, with a group of lovably awkward young outsiders on a life-changing, out-of-this-world adventure.
Because the subject matter seems so familiar, though, it doesn’t feel quite as fresh as those coming-of-age buddy flicks felt twenty-five years ago—and the kids aren’t as memorable as, say, Chunk and Mouth and Data. But they’re cute and quirky—especially Ryan Lee, who plays the young Michael Bay-like pyromaniac, Cary. And Elle Fanning is absolutely spectacular as Alice. Their ongoing filmmaking project, meanwhile, adds some comic relief to an otherwise intense and dramatic story (and be sure to stay in your seat for the credits, when the finished product is revealed).
With its adorable band of kid characters and an unseen threat lurking in the background, Super 8 is a nostalgic adventure with jaw-dropping 21st-century effects. It’s a super summer thriller that’s sure to satisfy young and old movie lovers alike.
Blu-ray Review:
Super 8 was a very personal project for J. J. Abrams, Steven Spielberg, and a number of other crew members—and that comes across in several of the film’s extras. Whether it’s on the commentary track (featuring Abrams, producer Bryan Burk, and cinematographer Larry Fong) or the featurettes, you’ll often find the crew members discussing their own childhood love of shooting Super 8 movies.
Blu-ray extras include more than a dozen deleted scenes, an extensive interactive feature on the train crash scene (including sketches, rehearsals, interviews, and more), and eight featurettes, covering everything from the young cast and the film’s steel town setting to Larry Fong’s on-set magic tricks.
Whatever your favorite part of Super 8 may be—whether it’s the cast, the filmmaking team, or the action and effects—you’ll find plenty of interesting behind-the-scenes extras on the film’s Blu-ray release. If you have time for just one of them, though, I recommend The Dream Behind Super 8. In the16-minute featurette, Abrams and his friends discuss their childhood love of movie making (even sharing some clips from their early films), the inspiration for the film, and their surprising history with producer Steven Spielberg. Fans of both Abrams and Spielberg won’t want to miss this nostalgic trip through movie-making history.
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