This is part two of a double feature movie review. Enjoy.
I think the 1980’s produced the best movies of any decade ever. Three Indiana Jones, Two Star Wars, Karate Kid, Back to the Future, Ferris Bueller, Batman, Goonies, and Die Hard are just a few of the classics from that decade. The reason that 80’s movies resonate so well is that they are creative stories that didn’t copy anything from the past. The special affects in movies today destroy the special affects of the 80’s, but so far this decade has struggled producing new original characters. Think about it, besides Jack Sparrow what other iconic movie character has been created in the last ten years? You can’t count Harry Potter because that started as a book. Even if you do count Harry there aren’t many others. I say all of that to make a point, Super 8 has the special affects of today but feels like it’s out of the 80’s.
Super 8 has a compelling story that makes you feel for the characters. I can’t tell you how many times I leave a movie theater and think to myself, “every person in that movie could have died and it wouldn’t have mattered to me.” Not in this film. The acting is stellar. The Directing is amazing. The story is original. The only flaw that I found in this movie was that it’s so good it makes me that more critical of other movies. Why can’t other movies take the time to develop characters? Why can’t other movies not settle for some good special affects…ahem ahem…Transformers 2…and actually create a plot that is worthy of two hours of our time?
Super 8 is intense and it has some scares in it. Even though it stars kids it’s not a kids film. I don’t recommend bringing little kid. It’s rated PG-13 for some swears, action violence, and intensity. I give it two thumbs up.
Rob’s Rating System =
Two Thumbs Up – A great movie worth paying full price.
One Thumb Up – A decent attempt and worth seeing at a matinee price.
Thumb to the side – An ok film, but wait for video.
Thumb down – A stinker of a film. Don’t waste you life seeing it.
dude, so cant wait to see it…
WOW… TWO thumbs up.
I won't beat around the bush: I'm tired of modern special effects. They've gone from a cool novelty to a crutch for mediocre writing (cough cough Avatar cough). 3D has only made it worse.
It's like video games: when creators got the ability to make stunningly realistic graphics, it seems like a lot of them forgot to put as much effort into the stuff that really matters. Where are some the best games now? On smartphones, where the constraints of the devices force creativity.
Though this will never, ever, EVER happen, I'd love to see Hollywood go a year without using any computer-generated special effects. If you want to portray something, you have to DO it, not just build it on a computer. The movie industry should work under some tighter constraints for a while to force some creativity.
What's the big deal about a movie focussing on a low-budget hotel chain?
loved Super 8. JJ Abrams is rising in the ranks of my favorite directors. can't wait for his Star Trek sequel
Burrill, you are preaching to the choir. I am with ya. How was Cars 2?
Yup. Second one of the summer.
It's good!
Jake, I agree. I wish they would attach him to a superhero movie. I'd have loved to seen what he would have done with Green Lantern.
Daniel, funny. Really funny.
Cars 2 was a thoroughly average kids movie. That means it was a very bad Pixar movie. It was a throwaway story built on gimmicky characters, the laughs were generally pretty cheap, and to top it off, it had a heavy-handed message about alternative energy and "big oil" that felt badly out of place. A great story is inevitably going to have a message, but when the message is bigger than the story (as happens in too many movies and tv shows), it ends up being propaganda. Cars 2 featured Happy Feet-level propaganda that's as sophisticated as a baseball bat to the head. (If you can't tell, I hated Happy Feet. Such a lousy movie.)
Kids might enjoy it simply because they don't care about meaningful stories and heavy-handed messages, but this isn't a Pixar movie that's going to appeal to adults like other Pixar movies do. (Oh, and because the main story is a spy story, a couple cars actually "die" and the villains talk about killing cars. Keep that in mind for the kids.)
cant wait to see this flick!
I just saw Super 8 yesterday. I would have given it one thumb up until I read your review and it is spot on; so now i give it one and a half (not all in with you on it). I was also emotionally 'invested' in the characters and as you pointed out that is what makes a great story. I was also happy to get the payoff of seeing the Super 8 film 'The Case' at the end. Abrams is okay, in my opinion. Some of the story to me seemed like 'Cloverfield' squished into 'Lost'. Unseen supernatural forces up to shady stuff…I'm over it. (M. Knight, did it better back in the day) Anyway, enough about my opinons. Good stuff Rob!
Excited about this one. Hope to see it this week. Thanks for the review!