This has been one of those movies that everybody either loves or seriously bashes, so many mixed reviews could not have been a good sign and the fact that movie forums stressed out some sort of a let down ending (of Cloverfield variety) had me seriously worried (since Cloverfield was a major suck in my rating world). J.J. Abrams (in my series world) had a weak standing ever since he ruined six years of my life given to the Lost debacle. Still, there was no way I would not go in, grab those popcorns and watch this one.
If you have heard it described as a mix of ET, Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Goonies, that is spot on. I would add Stand by Me and IT to this cocktail and even though you might think it too sweet, too colourful, too........not alcoholic (if you get where I'm going with this), it is actually a perfect one.
So, all the cliches are here: 12-year olds (a hero, his love interest, his best - chubby - friend, an eccentric, a joker), tragic loss, distracted parents (that come through in the end), aliens, bad American military guys, summer vacation, adventure........yup, check all that. And yup, you have seen it all before.
Thing is, you haven't seen it in at least 20 years. That is what makes it great - you get to relive all those great movies of yore, you're given a good script (you kind of have an idea where it's all going to, even the fact that they try to hide the visual aspect of the alien until the end of the movie is predictable yet.....satisfying as well), excellent young actors, fabulous music and extraordinary scenery and camera angles.
You are either going to love it (as I did) or find it lame (if you're an idiot). Super 8 is really, seriously, honestly, super 8 out of 10.
